Sympathy for the Diva
by Perentie Fan
Summary: What if Diva chose not to make Riku forever hers by killing him? What if he became a new kind of influence on her life? Can someone with a mind so twisted by her past ever be redeemed? Main Pairings: Riku x Diva, Saya x Haji, Kai x Irene
1. Chapter 1: Cat and Mouse

Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: The series Blood+ is not my property, but if it were it would have happened like this. Well… like this but censored enough for television.

_Italics_ = Thoughts and specially emphasized words.

At its core this story is basically the result of the twisted imagination of a guy who is attracted to the idea of a sexy, psycho vampire in a relationship with a young, kind, shy vampire-turned boy just experiencing puberty. It is yet another "what-if?" alternate universe story that engages in that fetish. However, it also attempts to keep the series' dignity intact. In particular it addresses the question of what role a bridegroom chevalier might have in chiropteran society (we can assume that they weren't usually killed after impregnating a queen).

The story also seeks to showcase a possible way to at least semi-realistically redeem Diva. While she did inflict terrible evils against many people, we know that she was not truly evil but rather was the product of other evils and manipulated by them. In the end she was shown to truly want something that was far from evil. Therefore, what if she had other influences? What if she made one choice that changed her future?

This story is rated Mature for containing various scenes of violence as well as sexual content. Be warned.

Further notes are included at the end detailing what this story is about and how it will go.

With all that said, let us begin.

--

Part 1: Cat and Mouse

--

_Where are you little boy?_

_OH! There you are!_

_It's fun to chase you, so run all you like…_

_But…_

_I want you so I will have you._

_Soon… very soon…_

_You'll be mine._

--

Putting it mildly, Diva's mind was far from stable. Even Diva herself could acknowledge that to some extent. A nearly complete lack of emotional or physical care throughout her childhood and adolescence had left her psyche warped practically to its very core. She had never learned to control base urges toward violence or selfishness that typical people gradually develop through many years of patient frustration from their parents.

Add to that the myriad other tortures that her confinement and use as an experimental subject had inflicted on her mind and it was a miracle Diva could even appear sane for any period of time. This of course made her all the more dangerous as few could suspect what she was capable of until it was too late. This had enabled her to surprise and feed on a few people in Joel's mansion, giving her the strength to accomplish her vengeance on the old man so many years ago.

That first day of freedom had been in some ways a temper tantrum that had been repressed within her for many years. Only unlike a toddler throwing her toys about or flailing in her mother's grasp, Diva was a young chiropteran queen, her strength and speed allowing her to slaughter all around her with ease. It was a wonderful, empowering feeling. To have overcome her keeper so completely, to drink her fill of the blood she had so long been starved of, and moreover, to at last release the carnal impulses of violence and dominance that were denied to her for all those years.

She had reveled in the bloodshed, in the power, in the utter freedom of acting as she pleased with no restraints, no limits, no walls or doors chaining her in place. Yet, it was not true joy, no amount of killing could take away the years she had spent in utter loneliness and despair. No, it was more a pleasant sense of satisfaction. Her tormentor and his friends were dead, save for one man who she made into her personal slave to serve her forever. It had been so very satisfying. And she had expressed this satisfaction in the one way she knew how, with the haunting song that seemed as much a part of her as her need for blood.

To her credit she did not find much pleasure in her victim's pain, though their expressions of fear could be amusing. She had no interest in torturing them, their screams and cries only grated on her sensitive ears, their pathetic whimpers for mercy disgusting her to the point that she would laugh at their audacity before killing them.

After all, what did they know of suffering? They had lived free to come and go all their lives, their worlds had always been larger than a single dark, dank room. What right did they have to complain if she ended their lives to gain a taste of their years of unearned freedom? Whatever they felt it couldn't have warranted even a moment of thought from her. So she could kill without remorse, but most torture simply bored her.

No, it was far more fun to forever silence them, to dominate them and drain their lives away at her whim. To bite down and suck away, to feel it as their struggles weakened till they lost consciousness and at last their hearts stopped. To be so much faster, so much stronger, so utterly beyond the starved lab rat she had been made to be before. Diva lived for this feeling for the simple fact that as long as she reveled in domination it numbed the memory of how helpless and lonely she had been for so long. And indeed, one could even say that for Diva the physical intimacy associated with feeding was desired as much as their blood and the euphoria of indulging her lusts. For in a twisted sense it was comforting for the girl who had never been hugged, kissed or given the slightest of an affectionate touch to hold a warm body close to her, even a dead one.

In the years that followed Diva would, out of necessity, develop some rudimentary control over these impulses. She would learn to pass for a fairly normal person, and even to enjoy being treated as simply another spoiled rich girl, an epitome of her namesake. But it was a fragile discipline, requiring the near-constant surveillance of her chevaliers to keep appearances up.

For Diva could scarcely meet with any number of humans without at some point making some comment related to her desire (or lack of it if she found them unattractive) to taste their blood or feel their bodies against hers. Making sure she was well-fed hardly guaranteed anything, as Diva could always muster some appetite if someone around her happened to unfortunately catch her eye. At least she would usually veil her comments as flirtatious come-ons or innocent misunderstandings, giving her chevalier time to run damage control and get her away from the scene before she actually did anything. Not surprisingly Diva did not often get chances to socialize with people, the risk of exposure was too great, yet this lack of contact only deepened her loneliness as she was routinely confined to all-but-empty buildings while her chevalier went about their business.

Related to this lack of control over her impulses and general emotional immaturity was a nature of extreme fickleness. Diva was prone to rapid mood swings and her attention span was completely unpredictable. In a heartbeat her interest in any particular activity could wane and vanish to be replaced with some entirely new desire. Anticipating these changes was nearly impossible and meant her chevalier were often left in the dark as to what goal her current actions might have at any one time. She figured this to be only fair, as after all Amshel didn't tell her everything he got up to either.

With that being said, there were rare occasions where Diva would find a goal worth devoting all her attention to. And when that happened her perseverance knew no bounds. These goals were all related to one thing, truthfully the only thing, she had desired most in her life, and now she knew she was at last taking a step toward it. It was like a voice urging her from within, a voice that had first appeared shortly after she had fed from the boy she was currently pursuing, and had grown louder ever since. For she had felt it back then, the instant Riku had become Saya's chevalier.

From that moment she had felt increasingly drawn to the boy. It was true that he had from the start been a very tasty, very cute and sweet meal, but this was something more. Thinking about him made her heart quicken and a ravenous heat spread through her body along with a yearning for his body, yet not for use as food. It was an instinct, a hunger every bit as strong as her thirst for blood, perhaps even stronger. Her inner regions pulsed with pleasure just thinking about him.

There was no better way of putting it. She wanted him, and nothing would stop her from having him. Somehow some part of herself deep inside knew that he was the key to giving her the one thing she had always wanted but been denied, the one thing that had always held her interest. She would have a family, people of her own blood. True children of her own who would grow into her equals, not mere servants like her chevalier. This was her goal, but first she needed to get that boy…

That was not to say she had every step planned ahead. She knew who she wanted and she knew what she wanted to do to him. The details were still being decided on and could change in an instant. In particular she was vacillating on what to do upon achieving her initial goal. Should she kill her consort once she was done with him, forever making him hers and forever taking him from dear sister Saya? Or should she take him alive, like the prize he was to her, to use for her pleasure forever? There were pros and cons to each and despite how thinking too much about things was something she avoided, she chose to make an exception here. It was turning out to be a long walk anyway.

Diva first considered how there was something attractive about having a mate. To have someone who was not obligated to obey her the way her chevalier were, someone she could raise her children with, they all seemed quite romantic and endearing possibilities. After all, a father was important wasn't he? Not that she knew anything of it from experience. She had known no father or mother in her childhood, just an unfeeling master, a man who brought her meager meals, and a girl who looked like her yet ran freely in the sun. Did a father make a child less lonely? Perhaps… provided they were not like Joel. Could keeping Riku alive help keep her and her babies from ever being lonely again? It seemed worthwhile to try and see if he could.

Still, there were many complications to going that route. After all he was still Saya's chevalier, would he cooperate? That other chevalier of Saya's, what was his name? Hogi? Agjee? That tall, quiet, incredibly boring man who made James look like the life of the party in comparison? Ah yes! Haji. She had never felt any desire for him, and it was clear if he desired anyone it was Saya, just as all but two of her chevalier had gone beyond any desire for Saya they may have had and refocused it to devotion to their queen.

She thus knew he was far too imprinted on Saya, far too in control of his chiropteran urges and impulses to be of any use to her. But Riku… he was above all so very innocent and new to being a chevalier. When she had first fed from him he hadn't even realized what she was doing in time to struggle. That had been one of the most enjoyable parts, she had simply held him tenderly as she drank her fill of his sweet blood. He had felt so nice in her arms, so soft and frail, so helpless, submissive and so very innocent…

Indeed, his innocence intrigued her to the point of even increasing her lust. Innocent was something Diva had never been, exposed to torturous realities from her earliest memories. She could scarcely comprehend the world Riku seemed to live in, the blind trust and optimism he had. It seemed to be innate in his personality to trust others, even after the traumas he'd been through.

Of course, she knew this innocence would also make him easier to manipulate, given how he likely had little experience with controlling his new chiropteran side. He would have no idea of how to handle her feminine allure or his own primal hormones and couldn't hope to resist her. He would be putty in her hands and she would be able to revel in that feeling of sweetness and innocence that made him who he was. But afterward he could become a liability if he turned against her. Even as much as she liked him she didn't feel she could trust him.

Besides, surely he wanted to be free of this conflict? It was hardly a place for such a kind and tender heart. She could free him of this cruel world in a manner most pleasing. After all, how many in all the history of humanity ever had the honor of being her lover? He really should consider such a gift worth his own life. She felt she knew him more than well enough to make such a judgement. Feeding on him had given her access to his mind, to his personality. She could even take on his form, voice and mannerisms if she wanted to. She knew he was simply not suited to the life he was currently leading, even if he was trying hard to change that.

So there were plenty of good reasons to kill him, but were they enough? Would the extra effort of taking him back with her be worth it? It would give him a new life that he could become better suited to than travelling with Saya. She could after all simply kill him later if need be. She had never before taken on a companion who was not of her own chevalier. Perhaps that alone meant taking him alive was worth a shot as Diva was always eager for new experiences. On that same train of thought she was curious about how it would feel to kill one of her sister's chevalier. That was something else she had never done before. She decided to stop thinking about it for now, the inner debate becoming irritating.

Back to the task at hand, Diva thought on how getting to her reluctant consort was becoming quite a fun game. Especially since she knew she would win. There was no way for Riku to truly hide from her. She could feel him, call out to his mind and sense his reaction to her. In addition to her personal desire to have a family and to no longer be alone, to find a partner and propagate one's genes was as powerful an urge as any in nature, and she would satisfy it.

Unlike killing Saya this was not a feeling subject to her whimsical moods. Indeed, nothing short of her own death would stop her here. With that lust-driven resolve she went whichever direction made the burning desire in her flare to a greater height. Finding him was instinctual, an urge that guided her perfectly from one part of the ship to another in her search. For Diva always relied on her instincts. To think too much about anything only brought confusion, pain and sadness.

That was perhaps her sister's greatest failing in Diva's eyes. Saya rejected her chiropteran heritage almost completely, trying so hard to act human all the time that she lost touch with her inner beast and became a sad and weak excuse for a queen. To indulge in the level of passion their superior bodies allowed for was one of the main keys to becoming as strong as they could be. Indeed, the mindless artificial chiropterans Amshel made from experiments with her blood behaved solely based on their urges and instincts, namely their lust both for blood and for Saya, though they lacked the intelligence to do anything for the latter desire other than seek Saya out by scent.

True chiropterans like herself, as well as chevalier, on the other hand, could control and direct their passions with practice. They could come to succeed at things or enjoy pleasures on a level beyond humans, be it Nathan's passion for the theatre, Amshel's obsession with knowledge or James' jealous devotion to serving her. Diva considered herself too full of life to focus her passions on any one area, except perhaps for sating her blood lust as well as her desire for all kinds of physical pleasure, the two desires often intermingling. Whereas Diva reveled in such primal pleasures Saya seemed utterly passionless and boring. Did the girl even have a sex drive?

Indeed it was ironic that for all her childish behavior Diva had a very healthy libido, too healthy some of her chevalier might say. This actually wasn't related to her desire for a family but simply to her passionate nature and tendency to indulge to the fullest whatever whim struck her and sexual urges are among the more common whims a mind drifts to. Being a chiropteran of course meant her various urges could also be far stronger than in a human, just as the pleasure could be more intense. Her lack of control and the stresses placed on her damaged mind meant she practically _needed_ such satisfaction at times or she could risk going on a violent rampage. Thus ever since she had first been able to indulge those desires she tended to do so shamelessly. Still, sex, while fun, tended to be unfulfilling, just a brief respite where in the heat of passion and afterglow she could forget about how truly alone she was. The thrill of drinking blood could act as a substitute or addition to sating such urges.

Thus it was that another difference between the sisters was where Diva relished in regular meals of warm blood, preferably from a living source, Saya seemed to not enjoy it at all, or at least not allow herself to enjoy it. Given how slow and weak she was when they had reunited at the Zoo Diva had conjectured that Saya only fed on blood when she absolutely had to.

It was true that like Saya Diva did not need a lot of blood to live. She could potentially subsist off of an ordinary diet, albeit she ate more than a typical person her size, and regular transfusions of blood. However, for rapid healing and superhuman abilities, regular intakes of another's blood were of great importance. It provided her incredible abilities in combat.

On that note Diva didn't even have to think to fight the Red Shield agents. For this too was pure instinct. She simply acted upon the impulse to defend and attack until they were all down. It was like flying on autopilot. Saya had it as well, as she had proven in Vietnam when her chiropteran instincts had raged out of control. Even then though, it was nothing compared to Diva's. She needed no sword to kill an enemy, especially a mere human one. Even if shot she could usually recover in seconds, and it was nearly impossible for any human to hit her with any weapon unless she allowed them to or was caught by surprise. Indeed, she could move with such speed and agility that once she chose to attack the humans may as well have been standing still. And now she was doing all of this while working with a handicap.

For Diva had decided early on that she needed to look her best for Riku. Sure she wouldn't be wearing the dress for long once she found him, she giggled to herself at the thought, but it still wouldn't do for her to appear messy. This was such a special time for them after all and the location, while exciting, wasn't that romantic so she had to do what she could to make it the best tryst it could be.

With this in mind she refrained from actually using any part of her body to directly kill the agents. This meant controlling her battle rage to keep from simply tearing them apart with her bare hands, not an easy task for someone who usually reveled in bloodshed. Instead she needed to move so fast that they ended up shooting each other. Then she would snatch a gun from one of the survivors and in a matter of seconds kill them all with amazing precision, shooting them or using the gun as an improvised club. Humans were so fragile that she knew hitting them hard enough in any number of areas would ensure a rapid death or at least an injury bad enough to keep them from following her, and so she focused most on remaining clean. To Diva's satisfaction she had succeeded, getting through each round of obstacles without so much as a spot of blood landing on her dress or gloves.

Indeed she actually didn't kill all the agents, not that it mattered to her. So long as they were rendered unable to interfere Diva regarded it as a victory. She wasn't going to waste time making sure they were all dead. She had more important things on her mind, like catching that boy.

For Diva it may as well have all been some friendly foreplay, a bit of fighting and chasing to really put her in the mood. While not equal to drinking blood, battle had always had a bit of an aphrodisiac-like effect on her, and combined with the thrill of the chase and her hormones urging for satisfaction, it was all she could do to keep herself from taking one of the agents in her excitement. But no, these men were not worthy of such a thing, they could not give her what she desired. Still she would play with them for a bit as required, it would be rude to completely ignore them. It wasn't much trouble to grant them the honor of dying by her hand, and they were a bit of fun, she admitted to herself, acting as if they _really_ believed they stood a chance of stopping her.

Plus, one of them had kindly given her a beautiful pair of running shoes, so fitting for her mission. Or at least she had the impression that he had no more use for them and wouldn't mind her having them. After all, he was dead now and so wouldn't be walking anywhere any time soon.

Her thoughts refocused as she felt the heat rise inside her again. He was close. She smiled and licked her lips. She could see it now, his little body overwhelmed by hers, that sweet face crying out her name. And his neck… she _had _to make sure she got her fangs in his neck or shoulder again at some point if she decided to keep him.

Sucking his blood would have to wait though, it'd be easier if he stayed conscious after all and there were… other… delicious things she could try. For she would taste him further this time. Besides his blood there were other things on offer. She'd lick his clear, youthful skin as it got all sweaty, she'd taste his lips and what lay beyond as she conquered him. Yes… he was going to be a beautiful lover.

_I'm coming Riku, ready or not…_

--

Elsewhere on the ship the same young teen on Diva's mind was struggling to unscrew a ceiling vent to escape through while his elder brother searched for an effective tool. Riku knew his own attempts would probably not work but it made him feel useful and he hoped would keep him from thinking too much about what was going on. Despite this his thoughts again traveled to the vampire queen pursuing him.

Just what did the girl want with him? Back when he sighted her in the elevator, tying the laces on a pair of running shoes for some reason, she had _waved_ at him of all things and given him the strangest look. A friendly, almost shy smile that said nothing of ill intentions, and he was beyond certain it had been directed at only him, as though Kai and the Red Shield agents weren't even there. For a moment, it had felt like he and she were indeed the only ones there and he had to forcibly tear himself away to escape.

Even now her face seemed etched in his mind's eye, and not necessarily in a negative way. He couldn't help but think she looked… beautiful… How could that be? She looked a lot like Saya and he'd never felt attracted to her like this. He shook his head and wondered if there was something wrong with him. He understood more about Diva and about being a chiropteran than he had before, having been allowed to read Joel's diary some time after his first encounter with Diva and having talked about it with Julia during some of his tests, but it was still confusing.

For one thing neither source had mentioned was how Diva seemed to be able to speak into his mind. Back when she had asked where he was it had been as if she was trying to get inside him and feel for a reaction. His heart had sped up in fear and he somehow just _knew _beyond any doubt that in that instant Diva sensed his reaction and knew exactly where he was. The genuine mirth as she exclaimed her knowledge of his location had perhaps been the most unsettling part. It felt as if the girl saw this all as some kind of twisted game of hide and seek, with some kind of very desirable prize for her if she won.

Perhaps she wanted his blood? She had taken it before after all. Yet he was Saya's chevalier, wouldn't that mean his blood would be dangerous to Diva? Thinking a bit more, he realized that couldn't be true. If it was then Haji would be able to use his blood to kill chiropteran's just as Saya did. Apparently only the blood of a queen herself was poisonous to a sister queen and her chevalier. So his blood could be a target, but it still didn't make sense. Why go to so much trouble? Did Diva resent being interrupted in her feeding previously and wanted another chance to drain him completely?

It was times like this he wished he could remember better just what had happened back then at The Zoo, if there might have been a clue to the situation he was in now. Thinking hard, the most he could recall were the few seconds of walking up to a girl who he had thought was Saya. The girl had smiled at him, said something about how cute he was and that she wanted to taste him, then in an instant her arms were wrapped around him and her teeth were in his neck. There had been surprisingly little pain, at least as far as he could recollect. He lastly remembered being too shocked to even be afraid as she at first forcefully, then more gently suckled at the wound, and soon he had simply blacked out.

Noticing a presence behind him he briefly defended his actions at the vent before turning to who he expected to be his brother. Instead he found Diva standing below him, her eyes intent and unwavering upon him. She smiled, and Riku felt himself freeze in place under her gaze, an odd heat rising in his body and almost making him blush. Where had that come from?

The moment was shattered by the sound of a gunshot and Diva falling limp to the floor after the bullet passed through her side. In the back of his mind Riku recognized his brother was calling to him, but he was slow to respond, his actions stymied by fear and… something else… his mind had felt hazy from the moment Diva had set eyes on him. Her eyes… that intense, wanting look she had just given him. It refused to leave his mind's eye, even after she fell. That look made him feel strangely compelled to not run… indeed her eyes had seemed to communicate this as a very direct command into his mind.

_Stay._

Even so he managed to get down to the floor and slowly step toward Kai only to be stopped in his tracks as Diva grasped his leg possessively. He turned to see her staring up at him with eyes that were full of want and yet somehow vacant, as though her mind was occupied with something else while her desires made her body move as needed.

Indeed that was the case as Diva inwardly cursed the lapse in awareness that allowed her to be shot, not actually giving any regard to Kai for shooting her. Now her dress, worn specially for this tryst with her soon-to-be lover, had two holes in it! Her heated urges toward the boy were pleasant but it seemed they were also distracting.

Not that it mattered. The boy's brother could riddle her with every bullet he had and barely slow her down. Experiencing physical pain meant little to Diva anymore, her years of torturous experimentation under Joel had ensured that her tolerance for pain was exceptional even among chiropteran. She would not be denied, he would not get away from her, the little chevalier would be hers before the night was done.

Moving her grip up his leg she stood, prepared to start where she had left off, Kai's presence vanishing from her mind as she again focused on the presence that had brought her here. She was quickly reminded though as the elder brother roughly tackled her aside.

It was actually only now that Diva had become mildly annoyed at Kai himself. The older brother had looked tasty when she'd first seen him at the tower but now he just seemed rude. He should have taken the hint after his gun failed and realized that she wasn't going to stop, yet he continued to pester her. She would have even allowed him to watch them play together but he had to go and be stubborn. His loss.

For no sooner had Kai pushed her aside than had Diva responded in kind, albeit with far more force, sending Kai rocketing into a crate where he fell and lay in a heap. She briefly thought about what a pity it was to mess up such a cute face, but it didn't really matter, a cuter one was right before her.

Riku could only stare and gape at the display of strength from the girl and hope that his brother wasn't hurt too badly. As for Kai, he found himself lapsing out of consciousness from Diva's hit, but he still managed to catch the both horrifying and baffling image of the ornately-dressed queen advancing on his brother. A worried "Riku…" was the only thing he managed to utter before he blacked out.

Not sparing Kai another glance, Diva took in her trembling prospective consort. At last the distractions had been dealt with, at last they were alone! She began smiling again as she eyed Riku's body, his slight built, delicate features, expressive eyes and nicely combed chocolate brown hair. He was quite different from all other chevalier she had known… and too cute for words! She just had to have him!

"I came here to see you, Riku," she stated silkily. She then brought a seemingly delicate hand to the blue rose-covered clasp of her ornate dress and in a single smooth motion released it, causing the dress to fall and pool around her feet. Riku's eyes widened as Diva was revealed to not be wearing anything under the dress itself and now stood before him in nothing but her gloves and shoes. A trace of her smile remained but as her eyes began to shine an ominous blue her expression subtly altered to a mixture of eerie and predatory. With slow, confident steps she crossed the remaining feet between her and her prize.

Riku was trembling more than he ever had before, unwilling to accept what was happening. He had had "the talk," and so he had a fair idea of what a woman getting naked with a guy could mean, but it just seemed too ridiculous to believe. Maybe she was going to tear him to pieces and didn't want to get her dress dirty? It was hard to think with the way his heart was pounding in his ears. Pushed to the limit, he rambled the most encouraging thing that came to mind. "I have to do my best, I have to protect Kai." The words seemed desperate, empty, and fell on deaf ears.

He still looked cute, but Diva hoped to see him smile in a bit. Intimidated or overwhelmed was fine but she didn't like the expression of absolute terror he currently had. Bending forward, she lined her face up with his, her soft ruby lips parting slightly in invitation.

"Don't be afraid little boy."

She grasped his face in her hands to force him to look at her, her shining gaze seeming to reach right inside him, a strange but undeniable mirth in her tone.

"You'll be _mine_."

For in her mind, this alone was good enough reason to alleviate his fears. She drew her open lips closer, her fangs slightly visible…

It should be noted now that Diva was selfish and twisted. There was no arguing against this. However, it would be wrong to say she thought nothing about her playmate's state of mind. To her this was not to be a rape, but rather a seduction. If she had merely wanted to do something as simple as rape him then her current actions would not have been needed. No, if this was rape it would be harder to get what she needed from him. So instead this would be wonderful, beautiful, something she and he would remember always, the moment new life was created for her and her kind. He would enjoy this, whether he wanted to or not. She would make sure of it. For in her view no one could resist her for long, not if she wanted them.

With this in mind she closed the gap between them and locked the boy's lips in a kiss more fierce and passionate than he had imagined in his wildest dreams. Shocked, he opened his mouth in a gasp and her tongue slipped in, at once flicking and licking in every which way to stimulate him best and spread her sweet, pheromone-laden saliva about. She could hear him making various protesting noises, muffled by her lips of course, but didn't let it distract her. She simply kept stroking his adorable little cheeks with her fingers while her palms kept him from moving, and easily dominated his tongue, curling around it, sucking on it and his lips in ways she knew would drive his senses wild.

Riku soon realized he couldn't move a bit away from Diva. She was incredibly strong and it felt as though his head was locked in a vice. A vice with soft, warm lips and an incredible taste that he could scarcely struggle against. More than ever he recognized that Diva was somehow in his head, that she held some sort of power over him and that right now she was flooding his mind with thoughts and desires that he had rarely or never had before. It was more than enough to keep his face flushed. What's more he suddenly found himself thinking about how soft and warm Diva was and how nice she smelled. Something was stirring inside him, in his blood. Something primal, something instinctive, something _hungry_…

He did think about acting to defend himself from this… assault. To scratch her or hit her, for all the good it would do. Yet he did neither. He squirmed and tried to slip out of her grasp to no avail and soon even this struggle stopped under the attentions of her lips and hands. His body felt paralyzed, her scent, taste and touch all acting together to overwhelm his senses. He wasn't sure what he was feeling now… he liked what she was doing and yet at the same time he didn't like it.

Then he heard a soft, pleasured moan but it wasn't until he had heard it a few more times and felt Diva smirk and giggle in the kiss that he realized he was the one who had made it. There was no way around it. It was the most logical explanation.

He had to have gone completely insane.

Yet he found it hard to be particularly upset over that fact. Perhaps this wasn't really happening, maybe it was all just a very strange dream?

Diva now took a moment to breathe and take a look at the boy, their noses close enough to touch, she was pleased by how deeply she had gotten him to blush and how his breathing had quickened. She proceeded to kiss him again, but whereas before it had been strong and passionate, now she was fast and teasing. She peppered his lips, face and neck with quick pecks and nips, leaving him even more flustered before returning to exploring his mouth with her tongue and fondling him.

His mind still reeling from that bout, they separated again just long enough for Diva to pull his head into her chest. She found the feel of his small face and rapid breaths against her breasts to be surprisingly arousing and held him closer, closing her eyes, stroking his back under his shirt and humming to herself contentedly, Riku's renewed struggles to slip away from her waning. _Mmmm… this really is nice…_

Riku's first instinct on being pressed up against Diva's breasts like this had been to pull away, but her grip on him prevented that from happening. He struggled as he tried to not notice how wonderfully firm, full and round they were, how soft and inviting they felt. However, his quickening breath made it impossible not to note how intoxicating her scent was becoming. He was losing himself in it. Then he made the mistake of opening his mouth slightly, giving him the barest of traces of the texture and taste of her alabaster skin against his teeth and tongue. That brief touch seemed to send a jolt of pleasure racing through his whole body. What was she doing to him?

After a bit more of this she examined him again and was pleased to find his blush was mixed with eyes that were rapidly glazing over with desire, much as hers already were. It seemed he was already relaxing and cooperating. Riku proceeded to tentatively wrap his arms around her, rubbing and nuzzling his face against her breasts, a blissful expression on his face. He seemed to be in a dazed, dreamlike state now, overcome with arousal he had never experienced before.

By now his chiropteran blood was burning with desire, thinking of little else than responding to the queen that had chosen him as her bridegroom, his rational, human mind having been beaten into submission for the moment. The queen was to be pleased above all else, and so he would pleasure her. The encouraging sounds she was making kept him from even considering stopping.

Diva now flinched a bit as he gently nipped at her but then moaned at the warm spasm of pleasure radiating from her chest, an arousal that went to her very core. So it seemed he did have a bit of a naughty side… Yes, she would enjoy this, and so would he.

Without conscious thought Riku found his hands moving toward her breasts, squeezing them as he continued to suck on portions of them, eliciting a louder moan from Diva as her pleasure intensified. This was turning out even better than the chiropteran queen had expected. She began to tug at his belt, finding it hard to undo without looking at it. However, this change seemed to snap the boy out of his daze for a moment and he tried to pull back, something Diva was _not_ going to allow.

For no sooner had Riku tried to get away then he had been slammed up against a large crate behind him for another passionate kiss and period of fondling. Soon Diva had torn his shirt open and thrown him to the floor, pinning him there and ravaging his chest with licks, kisses and nibbles. She continued downward to forcibly rub her breasts against the front of his pants, eliciting a moan and thrusting motion in him, Riku again too stimulated to think straight.

Diva was certainly enjoying herself, many things seemed to be making this boy more fun than any of her previous sexual partners. But it wasn't enough that she felt pleasure. She needed to get him in the mood and keep him there. She had to get him to orgasm inside her to get what she needed. She could do it though, she was sure of it and was in fact was well on her way there.

Also, she actually could feel a nice climax of her own coming. Already she was feeling quite damp in her lower regions. The experience of having a lover smaller than herself was proving very arousing for the queen, who would not abide any degree of domination from her lovers. But was this the best way? She wanted to experience this pleasure more, to explore it and sate herself in it. Plus doing this just once might not guarantee her the children she so desired. Noting she had managed to get him into that dazed and pliable state again, she slowed her ministrations and tried one last time to think this through.

Even now she had still not decided on just what to do. It would help to know just how much more fun it would be to keep Riku around rather than kill him, but impossible to compare the two. After all she couldn't find out what keeping him alive would be like if she killed him. She cursed that aspect of reality for limiting her choices. She would simply have to do the next best thing. She would continue this for a bit longer and see if the pleasure continued to grow. If it did she would take him alive for herself.

She already viewed Riku as her own. Not only had she fed from him, but now that he was one of Saya's chevalier he had become her groom. That was what her chevalier often said Haji was, though she had no interest in him. Still, it meant to her that Riku was ripe for the picking once she chose to do so.

Riku had other concerns. Still afraid but now also confused and more stimulated than he'd ever imagined, he continued to give in to the strange urges pulling at his mind. He let those instincts guide him and on a conscious level simply tried to not think about what was happening.

Diva moaned as she felt him relax and tentatively respond again, Riku now lightly kissing and licking at her neck, she encouraging him with deft caresses of her hands. His movements were of course unsure and inexperienced, yet he performed them with genuine passion and she reveled in it. It was an amazing feeling for her.

For to Diva her past sexual encounters had tended to fall into one of two categories. If she tried something with a willing stranger then they usually tried to dominate her, which was something Diva _never _allowed anyone to do to her in any way. It simply reminded her too much of being helpless as Joel's prisoner, held down while he performed whatever latest experiment he'd decided to subject her body to. Needless to say Diva made it a point to always be on top during sex.

Alternatively, if she tried something with her chevalier they were completely subservient in their actions and responses to her, which left her feeling quite unsatisfied after a while as she didn't really need to do anything during it. They would do their best to stimulate and pleasure her and they certainly had the passion to do quite well at it. Yet she usually enjoyed most taking an active role in obtaining something she sought, which was difficult to do when her chevalier simply gave her it without question, condition or effort. It just got plain boring eventually. How could she be expected to stay satisfied with sex when she was expected to just lie there? Pleasure was pleasure, but with her chevalier it lacked that excitement, the special pleasure she got when dominating someone or taking an active role in something.

She didn't know if Saya used Haji for such a purpose, she doubted it actually. However, at the same time she suspected that the two of them would be good sexual partners. Their relationship was different from any of the ones she had with her chevalier, perhaps because they had been friends beforehand. Not that this helped Diva, for she had no friends and wasn't sure she wanted them, not with the control she would have to give up.

Other reasons factored into her lack of satisfaction, each unique to each chevalier she had. She had only ever accepted Amshel once in an attempt to get pregnant. He was loyal and not that bad-looking, but the sight of him in such intimacy reminded her too much of Joel. That is to say he looked at her not with real lust, but with a disturbing scrutiny, a fascination, as though he were making scientific notes in his mind for every sound or movement she made. To Joel and Amshel it seemed sexual desire was just a distraction for more important things. She was partially thankful for that, as it meant Joel had never done anything sexual with her and Amshel had never asked to beyond their initial 'experiment' so many years ago.

James was gorgeous certainly, and yet he deified her so much that he would scarcely touch her during intercourse beyond what was necessary. She had only ever been with Karl once, proceeding to refuse his advances after he got weird ideas about their relationship. He was hers to use as she saw fit, not the other way around, and more than that he seemed to want an image of her he had made in his mind rather than the real her. Her thoughts were confirmed when he switched his obsession to Saya. He wanted a kindred spirit, and Diva had no interest in filling that role.

Solomon was perhaps her favorite of her chevalier and until recently was the one who pleased her most, albeit even he was lacking. There was always a touch of insincerity about him when they were together, as though he were only being polite in his actions, rather than actually feeling utmost passion for her. It was a feeling that had become very clear after he had met Saya and one that meant Diva felt little attraction toward him now. As for Nathan… despite his somewhat ambiguous sexuality he had been willing to indulge her one time, if only to prove he couldn't get her pregnant either. As she had no particular desire for him she had left it at that.

It was only with Riku that she had felt this amazing sense of satisfaction at getting him to willingly submit to her. The feeling of control it gave her was amazing. It seemed that Riku's special status as her groom meant she indeed had a special hold over him, and could seduce him in a more enjoyable manner than she could any other. If she let up then he would start to break free, then she could enjoy the process of getting him into the mood all over again. If she could continue to experience this, especially if it could continue all the way to climaxing… the pleasure would be incredible.

He would be like the world's best pleasure toy. Of course she usually broke her toys, but she did that as much because she knew they could be replaced at her whim as she did it for a sense of control and a way to vent her emotions. Riku on the other hand could not be replaced. Plus, where all her toys were given to her or allowed by her chevalier to take, Riku was something she could take herself for herself.

Indeed, she had found this whole excursion extremely gratifying. It was her own initiative, her own idea and she was accomplishing it on her own, only using Karl for transportation and as a distraction for Saya. To have Riku and make her own family through him was an objective of her own designs, independent of the countless, boring and useless experiments Amshel always claimed to be doing for her. To keep the results of her independent actions, to proudly display him as a trophy of her resourcefulness, it was quite a pleasant idea.

Was that also a good enough reason to let him live? After all, even if she killed him she wouldn't really kill him… he would live on within her and her babies… of course if she did that then she wouldn't be able to enjoy him this way. Diva didn't want to deny herself more time playing with this boy unless she had to. So at last she decided to let the boy choose his own fate, unconsciously having already decided for him as in her view no one in their right mind would refuse such an offer from her.

"Riku… would you like to come back with me? We can continue this somewhere nicer…" she purred into his ear and nibbled it, enjoying the way he gasped and twitched in confusion, fear and pleasure.

Riku's head was spinning, he could barely think straight with the barrage of emotions and sensations that were assaulting him. He looked at her, his eyes unfocused and a dazed look on his face. She interpreted this as an affirmative and, still smiling, swiftly delivered a strike to his neck in such a way that she knew it would keep even a chevalier like him unconscious for a few hours. It would be easier this way, she didn't want to risk him escaping before she could finish claiming him. The silly boy was so shy he just might try to slip away on the flight back, leap into the sea and get his clothes all wet and that just wouldn't be acceptable.

Diva noted how good it felt to have decided. She had settled for the potential long-term benefits and promptly, elegantly, slipped her dress back on. She looked back at her groom and couldn't help but think with a hungry smile that Riku looked positively delicious laid out helpless on the floor with his shirt torn open and his hair disheveled. Yes, she doubted she'd regret deciding to keep him.

Fully dressed again she looked aside to see Kai slowly regaining consciousness, then doing his best to glare at her from the floor, and smirked in amusement at him. Such an impertinent look the boy had, he really ought to learn respect. A new idea rapidly started forming, one that would allow her to teach him a lot of respect. He was handsome, plus Riku would like having his big brother around, wouldn't he? _I think I'll make him mine too._

Diva stepped over to him and looked down, still smiling in amusement as the boy's anger. "Would you like to live forever, handsome boy?" she inquired, smiling even more at how his expression changed from enraged to utterly confused and shocked.

She bent down and picked him up by the neck with one hand, ignoring his pained groans of protest. Then she squeezed her other hand into a fist, digging her nails in until her palm bled. She repositioned her grip and leaned Kai's head back, forcing the half-conscious boy's mouth open with ease and letting her blood drain in. Kai soon gagged on it and mustered enough strength to spit some back in Diva's face.

At this Diva considered tearing his face off, but her anger quelled almost immediately at the sight of Kai struggling to remain conscious and fight in some way when he in fact could barely move. He was too pathetic a sight to kill. Plus, she knew that despite his best efforts, he had swallowed some of her blood. It was only a matter of time now. Meanwhile, she noted, it seemed someone had finally caught up to her. It was about time too. _Sister…_

As for Kai, he at first felt nothing but the odd metallic taste of Diva's blood draining down his throat. He fought the nausea and the pain of his injuries, becoming ever more enraged when Diva seemed amused at his spitting on her, the girl smirking and licking off a bit of her own blood that had splattered on her lips. She dropped him with disinterest and looked toward the door, as though expecting someone. Then, in a flash, his world was drowned in pain. It felt as though every cell in his body was on fire. He contorted in agony for several seconds before he mercifully lost consciousness, though his screaming and thrashing continued.

--

Tired from all the fighting and running she had done, Saya still wasted no time in throwing the door open upon hearing the screams and entered to see Kai convulsing on the floor in apparent agony before falling limp shortly after. "Kai!" she called out to him concern before noticing Diva standing nearby.

Diva had a finger to her chin in a thoughtful expression. "Why must they always scream like that?" she asked herself. She then turned and beamed at her sister, as though just noticing she was there. "Oh, Saya! You just missed me giving this handsome boy some of my blood," she indicated to Kai with child-like enthusiasm.

Saya's eyes widened. _No… she couldn't have…_ "Diva…" it was all that could escape from her lips before she charged at the queen with a cry of rage, her sword drawn and eyes blazing red. If she had been thinking clearly she might have noticed that Diva seemed unconcerned and made no effort to dodge as she impaled her clear through the torso.

"Don't get so excited," Diva whispered in her sister's ear, her voice barely showing any pain even at such an injury. Indeed, she sounded as though she was ashamed of Saya's attack. "You forgot to add your blood." Saya could only widen her eyes in shock at her error before Diva threw her into the side of a nearby crate with enough force to leave her badly stunned.

Diva pulled the sword out without even flinching, and discarded it like garbage. Though a bit messier than some bullets, the pain wasn't really any harder to handle. Still, it was too bad her dress was now truly ruined.

Saya struggled to her hands and knees only to collapse again, frustrated at how easily she had been overpowered and wishing she could heal faster than this. It was then her eyes caught the sight of Riku lying across from her, unconscious and with his shirt torn open. "Riku?" she looked at Diva in confusion "what did you- why Riku?"

Diva only giggled. "Let's just say that for once I am knowing the pleasure of taking something precious from you and making it mine. I wanted to experience what it was like to kill chevalier like you seem to love doing, but now I think this idea might be even better. He is really such a _nice_, handsome littleboy, and tasty too," she licked her lips. "So, I decided to make him mine."

It was then that the forms of Haji and Karl crashed through a wall and into the room, Karl in his full chiropteran form and Haji struggling to fend off his attacks. Grabbing one of Karl's arms and holding the other back, he looked to Saya as his first concern. "Saya, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she replied, wishing she looked more convincing. It didn't matter now though, she didn't matter. "But Riku… I don't know what Diva's done to him!"

Haji glanced at the boy's still form, unable to tell in the heat of battle if he was dead or merely unconscious. The possibility of the former was enough to anger him a good deal. Haji generally avoided forming close bonds with anyone as a matter of necessity. He needed to reserve himself entirely for Saya, plus if he did have friends they would inevitably want to know why he never aged and in turn could get themselves drawn into the conflict with Diva.

Nevertheless he had grown quite fond of this boy who had become Saya's adopted brother. Riku was kind to a fault and seemed to accept his reclusive nature without judgement. He hadn't demanded that he come and celebrate with them that one night on the beach, but rather had simply brought him food to let him know he noticed he was there and cared. Haji had even found himself musing a bit on how the decades he would spend without Saya would be a good deal more pleasant with another chevalier around, a boy who he believed he could come to see as his own brother.

So it was that the sight of Riku lying there was enough for the normally utterly stoic chevalier to show a hint of a frown. However, the true extent of his anger was only noticeable in how he suddenly found the strength to snap Karl's arm with one hand before leaping back to grab Saya's sword and prepare to fight at her side.

Karl growled in fury, stepping back as he realigned his arm bones and waited the brief time needed for them to heal. Haji was a strange chevalier to fight. Aside from one clawed hand and some speed he used so few chiropteran abilities, relying instead on knives and that ridiculous cello case. He could appear so weak one moment and so strong the next, as though he was holding back. Plus he seemed to regenerate as rapidly as any chevalier could, given how he seemed utterly unaffected from his body essentially being nailed to the deck of the ship not long ago. Not that any of this mattered a lot to Karl. After all, at least he was with Saya again. Now their dance could continue, perhaps to the end he dreamt of.

It was not to be though as Diva suddenly addressed him. "Karl, I have that boy I wanted. Now I want to get out of this stuffy place. Make me a door and get me to the top."

"…Yes, mother," Karl replied, hoping that he would still get a chance to keep fighting.

Knowing her order would be promptly obeyed Diva quickly stepped beside Riku and picked him up, bridal style, she noted in amusement. She also noted how angry her sister became at the sight. It felt nice to know she was causing Saya to make such a funny and ugly face like that, although at the same time her survival instincts told her Saya's expression was something to be concerned about. Even so she simply glanced at her coyly as she stepped toward Karl. "Sorry Saya, I can't stay and play with you right now. This precious boy is just far too tempting for me to ignore."

Saya cried out in rage and both her and Haji charged at Diva, trying to head her off. It proved futile though as Diva's form seemed to blur in front of them and suddenly she was seated on Karl's back. No sooner had they realized this than Karl had leaped at the ceiling, ramming his head and claws into it with every bit of strength he could muster. The result was the ceiling giving way, tearing and falling about him as his momentum allowed him to plough his way all the way to the top deck of the ship. He left a large hole through which the stars could be seen through the dusty trail of debris. Somehow Diva had positioned herself on his back in such a way that she and Riku remained there, largely unmarked from the experience.

With the new distance between them she couldn't help but give into the urge to taunt Saya again. They didn't spend much time together so she figured she may as well make the most of this meeting before leaving. "I've decided that you can keep my new chevalier for now Saya," Diva called down to her. "He may come to me eventually on his own and either way I have what I wanted most." She cradled the unconscious boy in her arms and kissed his cheek before giving Saya a haughty look. "I'll be sure to take good care of little Riku."

"Diva!" Saya's eyes were blazing red even more, and without thinking she leaped up toward the hole and with a few more jumps had gotten to the main deck, Haji following close behind her. With a final superhuman leap she held her sword out and shot at Diva like a spear.

Karl swooped to the side, Saya's blade barely missing him. Diva looked on in amusement as her sister landed hard on the ship below, likely breaking a few bones. "That was a good jump Saya, though it seems you don't know how to land on your feet," she joked. Inwardly, however, she was impressed that Saya had managed such a feat of strength in her weakened condition. Perhaps even without regular meals of blood a chiropteran could do extraordinary things when pushed to their limit.

Haji was already at her side but Saya could only look up at him pleadingly, her eyes filling with tears. Her best effort had come to nothing, and the surge of strength that her rage had briefly given her was gone. She was helpless. "Please Haji… I don't care what just please do something to save him…" her eyes closed as she lost consciousness.

Haji stood and looked up at the enemy with stoic resolution. "As you wish." _I am glad that your eyes will be spared this form of mine that once caused you to look at me with such fear, if I am to get Riku back I cannot afford to restrain my powers._

There was the barest hint of anger in his expression as he glared into Diva's eyes, knowing she could hear him perfectly. "You will return him." Diva only smirked.

However, her smirk faded when massive wings suddenly sprouted from Haji's back, silent save for the sound of his suit ripping, adding to the many tears it had suffered from Karl's attacks. At the same time his human arm transformed to match his clawed one. Seemingly a moment later he was coming at them, mighty flaps of his wings powering him forward. Karl swung at him wildly only to have Haji easily block with one clawed arm. Haji took the opportunity to use Karl's arm as leverage, vaulting himself over and past the surprised chevalier, allowing him to lean in close on Karl's back and reach for Riku with his other hand.

However, He could not hope to have been prepared for the speed and viciousness of Diva's reaction, as she grabbed his arm and snapped it with seemingly no effort, her blazing blue eyes giving him a look as vicious as the one Saya had given him back in Vietnam. The bad memories this triggered, along with the pain, were enough for him to lose his place in the sky, flailing back as Karl proceeded to slash at one of his leathery wings, nearly tearing it off and causing Haji to plummet back to the deck with a resounding crash.

The confusion below and the lack of visibility in the sky meant that Haji's transformation had gone unseen by the fleeing crewmen of Red Shield headquarters, though the sound of his fall back to the ship had not. Briefly unconscious, his wings retracted on reflex.

Diva took a moment to calm herself from her brief outburst. Haji reaching for Riku had triggered a sudden rage in her much like a child who had just had someone try to take a favorite toy from them. NO ONE was allowed to take what was hers! It was pointless to fume now though, she'd punished Haji for his impertinence, so she need only return to her room and enjoy the fruits of her labors. She stroked the face of the unconscious boy in her arms. He was looking more desirable to her by the second and she felt her lower regions give a pulse of pleasure at the thought of taking him. "We can leave now Karl," she remarked in an offhanded manner, her eyes not straying from Riku's face. "Now that I have this boy, I want to play with him properly."

Karl, however, was focused on the sight of Saya, conscious again and slowly getting back to her feet**. **"My queen…" he pleaded, albeit with an edge of hostility in his voice, "please, allow me to continue my dance with Saya!"

"_Karl_," Diva warned, her tone cutting him to very core. "I said we are leaving."

In reaction he tensed for several seconds, then with a frustrated roar he loosed several barbs from his arm in a display of rage. Down below, one of them struck the young descendant of his namesake Joel in the back as he tried to evacuate to a helicopter, effectively crippling the leader of Red Shield. This did nothing to quell Karl's rage and disappointment though. "Yes… my queen," he conceded with a growl, unable to hide his anger. He turned about and with a few flaps was well on the way back to land.

Saya watched them go in silence as despair consumed her. She trembled and clenched her fists, not caring about the pain from her injuries that had only partially healed. "Riku…" she whispered bitterly. She hated Diva for this, but even more she hated herself for her failure to save him. She couldn't stand feeling so utterly helpless and yet all she could do was fall to her knees with a scream of rage and sadness that echoed into the night.

Atop Karl, Diva took a moment to stop caressing Riku and held a hand to her heart. She had heard as well as felt Saya's anguish to some degree through their mental bond. She had truly hurt her, truly filled her sister with sadness by taking something precious from her and making it her own.

It felt _good._

She smiled as she basked in the feeling and considered the ironic justice. Upon their births Saya had taken everything from her. By pure chance Saya had been the one chosen to live as the first Joel's pampered daughter, to be given all that could have just as easily been Diva's, to be given love, a family, friends… Now, so many years later, she would take it all back. This boy she held in her arms would ensure that. She caressed his cheek, excitement filling her.

_Just wait until I get you to my room…_

--

**Notes:**

Where possible I have attempted to follow what is known about chiropteran society and physiology, but have had to make up a few things for the sake of developing Riku's new role. This is necessary as the series does not cover the possibilities that he is hinted at possessing and how they might have manifested if he had survived.

It is really quite surprising that I have found myself writing this when I haven't written yet for a number of series I absolutely adore. You see I am not usually interested in anime that are as bittersweet as Blood+ is. I prefer anime that are somewhat "happier." However, Blood+ does so well at setting up potential happy-ending type plots (only to dash them later) that I have found myself a fan of the series in a very unconventional sense. That is my love for the series is based in part on my own fantasy for how I _wish_ the series had gone rather than how it actually went.

Writing alternate universe stories is also very strange for me as I normally prefer writing things that are mostly canon (on the other hand I have read many good alternate universe fanfics). Yet here it is, though it is admittedly only alternate universe in the sense that a few events are going to be different. Thus I will retain most of the original plot, only altering what I felt needed to be to make my wants for the series seem plausible.

In that same vein comes the one other change of note in this fanfic. Namely I am having the Schiff be cured by Saya's blood instead of killed by it. Therefore Irene is alive and the Schiff have devoted themselves to helping Saya and Red Shield in gratitude, though they still understand little of working together with non-Schiff. Their location during this first chapter will be explained in the second.

Irene's continued presence will profoundly effect the story, mainly concerning my having her develop a romance with Kai. I realize and respect that Kai came to love Saya as more than a sister in the series, but I believe that had a lot to do with how much he devoted himself to her after Riku's death. The way he and Irene bonded so quickly and easily makes me think it is just as likely that he would have fallen for her if she had lived.

I credit Story Weaver1's fanfic "Learning to be Human" with the idea behind the Schiff surviving. Namely it is based on the premise that Amshel could have had some of Saya's blood in storage from his days with Joel, perhaps not in good condition but there nonetheless. Furthermore it could be reasoned that he would try to use it to make the Schiff so that should they become a threat to Diva she could easily defend herself. Plus it would make them more effective at fighting Saya as her blood would not kill them.

I also am not ignoring how James explained in the series that the blood of a queen could not directly cure the Thorn for the Schiff. Though it was not explicitly stated it is indicated in the series that the blood of the correct queen could in fact treat the Thorn effectively, just not cure it. When Diva rejected James' new body it can be assumed that he didn't receive her blood anymore (if he ever did) and without regular infusions of her healing blood the Thorn developed after a period of time. This theory is supported by the evidence mentioned, as well as how Lulu's ends up getting an extension to her life at the end of the series thanks to a component discovered in Saya's blood. Presumably if they had been made from Saya's blood (as in this story) that component would be even more beneficial and could be the one means of truly curing them, but of course it wouldn't apply until the end of the series when Julia discovers it.

I plead that I do not know the series timeline perfectly and therefore certain scenes may not match well. If so I request that you inform me so that I might make alterations. This series of course starts on the episode "Boy Meets Girl." Except where noted otherwise, everything should be assumed to occur much as it did in the series.

I am also aware that there are different spellings used for some of the character's names depending on whether it's the manga, the dub anime or the original anime. Mainly this is for Karl and Haji. I will be using those spellings of their names for no valid reason except that I like how they look.


	2. Chapter 2: Spider and Fly

Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue

_Italics_ = Thoughts and specially emphasized words.

Let me state beforehand that I do _**not**_ condone anything resembling rape in the real world, including chemical means of making the other person "cooperative" (not that that is what occurs here). It is one of the worst atrocities one human can inflict on another. What occurs in this story is meant to be seen in the perspective of the very unusual circumstances involved and obviously couldn't happen in real life. It also helps that neither participant is human and thus the rules can be said to be a bit different. As said in the last chapter I want my story to preserve the series' dignity, and hopefully my treatment of Riku's seduction won't destroy any chance of that.

I feel my take on events is at least somewhat within reason. The series itself mostly doesn't address exactly what Diva did with Riku aside from obviously getting him to climax inside her and her remarking on how "nice" he was. Her ability to speak into his mind, the base desire in the blood of chevalier to impregnate the sister of their queen (spoken of by Amshel) and the lack of any signs of struggle on Riku's stone body in the episode itself all lend credence to him possibly not being entirely unwilling in what she did to him. There is also the factor of how getting him to orgasm would be a bit more difficult if he was more terrified than stimulated.

--

Part 2: Spider and Fly

--

_Where…where am I? Is this… am I… in heaven?_

Those were among the few coherent thoughts that managed to come to Riku's mind as he wavered between consciousness and unconsciousness. It was just what he automatically assumed, for why else would be feeling such bliss after such a harrowing experience? For he knew he had just been through something traumatic, though at the moment he didn't want to actually remember what it was. Nor did he care that he couldn't see. He feared if he opened his eyes this happiness might end.

All he wanted to focus on was the sensations drifting through him, and the echoing melody of a beautiful song that he couldn't quite recognize. He was lying on something, something soft and warm. Whatever it was had wrapped itself around his chest from his back and seemed to be moving slowly about his body in a comforting caress.

He sighed contentedly and breathed in the wonderful aroma surrounding him. The scent was alluring… disarming... captivating… Something seemed familiar about it but he couldn't quite place it…

Where had he sensed this before?

Images flashed in his mind. He was in a tower, held by someone… a girl… she was... doing something to his neck… accompanying the action with an occasional satisfied moan, like one might make when eating something especially delicious.

More images. He was on a boat… someone was there with him… she had him on the floor… kissing him… she was moaning more here and… so was he?

What was going on? Did he even care? While he was growing increasing confused the song had also grown louder in the background.

Wait… a song?

_Her_ song.

_Diva…_ He realized and memories flooded back with that realization.

He should have felt fear, and he did. Yet he also felt the fear fleeing him, as though the voice was filtering it out of his senses and replacing it with a sense of awe and… longing. The notes and tones seemed to carry him as he drifted, and then wrapped around him like warm blankets. It was wonderful, enchanting, yet he couldn't help but notice it also felt so… sad… as though the voice was subconsciously bearing sorrows that could not be named.

There was music as well, music was playing wherever he was. It was then he began to feel her thoughts, her desires. They were directed toward him and seemed to urge him toward consciousness while planting themselves deeply in his mind. He began to feel warmer, almost hot as her voice echoed through him.

I want you Riku…I need you…

_Be mine._

In reaction to this the warmth he felt around him was now joined by a heated stirring of his hormones, the voice in his head seeming to urge the fire inside him to flare wildly. At last his eyes opened to reveal him lying in a large, ornate bedroom. The room was low-lit and so he slowly took in his surroundings as his eyes adjusted to the light. He lay upon a bed as ornate as the room but instead of a pillow his head was laid on someone's warm lap. His face turned up to see that same someone was smiling down at him as she slowly stroked his hair and chest, her expression eager.

"You finally woke up, my sweet Rikku."

--

Elsewhere in the depths of the large house, Karl, back in human form, brooded in a dark corner, leaning against a wall. He knew perfectly well what his queen planned to do with the boy he had assisted in taking from the ship. Rational thought was not something Karl had possessed much of in many years so it was no surprise that despite his own inability to give Diva children he was still furious that she was using that puny brat. The boy wasn't worthy of licking Diva's shoes, let alone impregnating her!

Alas, she had chosen him and there was nothing he could do about it. It was yet more proof to him that Diva would never love him, and just like that his formerly devout thoughts toward the queen turned back to the festering resentment and loneliness that ate away at his mind day after day. If Diva would not love him so be it, that was her right. But why take him away from his darling Saya? It did not matter or occur to Karl that Diva would have had to swim to shore with Riku if she let him remain to fight on the ship, all that mattered was that Diva's order had caused his dance with Saya to be cut short.

It could also be said Karl's feelings toward Diva and Riku had not been helped by the errand she had sent him on after getting back here. Having to go out and buy the child new clothes when he was already exhausted from all the flying and fighting he'd done that night just added insult to injury. He may not have needed sleep but rest was still required at times. But then, who was he to expect any consideration from Diva, especially now?

He grinned maniacally as his thoughts meandered. Diva would have her fun as she always did, and once she was tired of the brat he would be the first to volunteer to get rid of him, slowly and painfully, if only to spite the boy for receiving the affection that he never had. Meanwhile he would bide his time and dream of his next encounter with Saya, hopefully the final encounter through which he would find peace for his tortured soul one way or another.

"Ah my beloved Saya… will your brother's fate bring you such grief that we shall be even more the kindred souls than we already are? Oh… I hope that it shall."

--

As Riku's awareness returned he realized he was no longer wearing the suit he had back on the ship. Rather he had been placed in thin, red, silken pajamas. _She undressed me?!_ He realized with a start and a unconscious blush. For her part Diva had changed into some kind of lacy black negligee that while not fully see-through did show off her attractive figure and lack of a bra quite nicely. Considering the situation Riku wondered why he even noticed, the red tint to his face intensifying.

He leaped up with a gasp and stepped back several feet from her. "W-where am I?!" he demanded, trying to sound intimidating despite his blush and trembling voice. He continued to step back, scanning for an exit, wondering if he could make it to the door or window without being stopped. "Why am I here?!"

Diva merely smiled at him, slowly rising from the bed and walking toward him, slowly, rhythmically swaying her hips in a way that Rikku found hard not to stare at. "Silly boy… You're with me."

Her form seemed to vanish before his eyes and suddenly she was behind him, her arms wrapping around his chest and her lips to his ear in a playful nip. He felt a shudder go through him that he couldn't help but notice felt better than he thought it should. At least she hadn't brought her fangs out yet. She continued to nibble on his earlobe and whisper. "As for why… Because you are going to be mine Riku. Forever and ever…"

She meant it too. She had spent a good amount of time here with him in her lap and she felt increasingly attached to the boy with every passing second. Already her earlier idea to simply take what she needed from him, then take him body and soul by killing him, seemed woefully shortsighted. Why do that when she could have this charming, tasty, incredibly cute little chevalier all to herself for as long as she wanted? Plus taking him here would be so much more special than doing it on that noisy old ship.

Here she didn't have to worry about lack of time and was thus able to set up a night worthy of her fondest dreams. Romantic lighting, beautiful, sensual music playing in the background to help the mood, and a soft bed with plenty of room for the two of them to play on. The only thing that could have made it better might have been if her sister's severed head was lying in a corner, vacantly watching her sister achieve the happiness she so deserved. Or maybe if there was a pool filled with blood nearby for her and her soon-to-be lover to bathe in afterwards.

Even lacking those things she was giddy with excitement as she considered various ways she could now play with her Riku. It went without saying that she would take a little time to properly seduce and toy with him first, though she was still intent above all else on having him before the night was done. And it was his first time after all, so she couldn't play with him for _too_ long. _I might break him_ she noted to herself mischievously.

Riku knew he should by all rights be scared out of his wits, much as he was earlier on the ship, and he certainly felt some fear. But just as when Diva had kissed him there, he now felt an odd but nice fog in his head, along with a sense of belonging and attraction, to Diva. How was that possible?! It made no sense! And yet it was there and it made his blood rush and his heartbeat quicken.

"My-my clothes?" he sputtered, largely at a loss as to how to respond to the insane vampire as she turned him around in her embrace to face her.

"Oh, that suit?" Diva asked casually, all the while not allowing him to pull back or look away from her eyes as she caressed his cheek, sending more pleasant shivers through him. "Remember on the ship? I got a little excited and ripped it, so I had it put away until it could get fixed. I had Karl go out and buy you those pajamas and some other clothes, I hope they fit right. If they don't I can get you some more, but that can wait until _later_," she continued, ending with a lilting, playful tone in his ear.

Riku was dumbfounded at her reply. What kind of kidnapper cared about ripped clothes? And who the heck was Karl?! He then recalled more clearly just what had happened between him and Diva on the ship that had resulted in those ripped clothes. Was she really planning on continuing _that_ here?

Diva had loosened her grip enough for Riku to slip out of her grasp, but the look in her eyes was so entrancing he could only slowly stumble backwards. And for every step he took she took one, always keeping the front of her body pressing against his and hemming his movements with her arms, the slight smile never leaving her. "W-what do you mean by 'later?'" he sputtered, hoping he wasn't digging his own grave by asking and only now noticing she had been slowly guiding him back toward the bed as they spoke.

As a reply Diva gave him a particularly wry grin before she pushed the smaller boy back onto the bed with a playful, if forceful, shove, then climbed on after him. Riku back-peddled away from her to the headboard, staring at her in panic. Diva however simply sat there at the edge of the bed, her body bathed in moonlight from the windows. Her eyes seemed glazed over now, Riku unable to read anything in them except intense desire. She raised one hand, a few quick motions allowing her hair (which had still been pinned up) to freely flow down to its full length. To Riku the locks looked so very soft and beautiful. He swallowed nervously, his own eyes wide.

_That's right little boy… you like looking at me… don't you?_

A smile tugged at her ruby lips and she shut her eyes as though pondering something pleasant or amusing.

_I'm going to make you so hot your blood will boil..._

She then opened them slightly, giving him an enticing look as she proceeded to slowly slide the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders, one side at a time, revealing herself bit by bit. Down it went, past her pert breasts and smooth belly to her hips, her creamy, pale skin making her seem to shine in the moonlight. With a few more, slow, sensuous movements she had slipped the clothing off completely and let it fall to the floor behind her. And although his blush intensified, Riku found himself unable to look away from the sultry display, much to Diva's pleasure. The effect was just as arousing for him as she had hoped it would be.

She now bent forward and started toward him, looking oddly like a cat preparing to pounce on a mouse. "Do you see Riku? We can play all we want now without anyone interrupting us."

"P-play?" he sputtered dumbly.

"Yes… we're going to have _lots_ of fun," her voice had taken on an even stronger, sexier edge.

He still couldn't look away. It was somehow entrancing the way she slowly stalked toward him, crawling on all fours, a hungry look in her eyes. His eyes still locked on her, he scooted back the little distance left until he reached the headboard of the bed. She still approached and even as his mind screamed for him to try to run again he couldn't find it in him to do so. Diva was the enemy! She had hurt Kai and Saya! So why did he feel so… so eager and excited?

Diva seemed to find his rapidly-changing expressions of fear, shock and confusion to be quite amusing as she laughed a bit before reaching him, grasping his wrists and meeting his eyes.

She cocked her head to the side, looking a bit perplexed. "Are you shy? That's so cute!" she giggled. "It's okay though, I promise, I won't bite this time," she assured him, the hungry look in her eyes not wavering.

Riku was dumbfounded as he came under touch. When had he become a puppet? Why was he not resisting as she pulled him forward until his head lay on a pillow, crawled on top of him and straddled his hips? Finally forcing his body to move he threw his hands up to her shoulders in a vain attempt to push her back.

"W-wait!"

"I'm done waiting," she said simply. In fact Diva inwardly laughed at the very idea. It had taken her the better part of two hundred years to find Riku. She would get what she wanted this night and no later. He just needed the _proper_ encouragement. First she smoothly moved his hands aside, and before he could try to push her back cupped his face again and brought her own face close, giving him a sensuous lick to the edge of his lips then sliding it back over her own in a savoring gesture.

Noticing how his breathing sped up at the sight and touch she now met his lips with her own and in a passionate display of energy rolled around with him on the bed a bit, continuing to kiss the now slightly dizzy boy. They came to a stop about the same place they started, with her still on top, her arms effectively pinning his hands at his sides to keep him from attempting to push away as she sought to wear down his resistance with her kisses.

"B-but W-w-why?" he stuttered whenever her lips gave him an opening. He had to do something to distract her! Struggling under her much stronger grasp was proving futile. "Why are you doing this?!" he managed to blurt out all at once as she paused to look at him.

"Because I want you, I want what you can give me," she replied simply, her breath heavy with lust. "You're the one I've waited for Riku, the one I have chosen to be my bridegroom, the one I will have my babies with!" she finished with genuine joy and excitement in her voice.

"B-babies?!" Riku's mind reeled. He couldn't be a father! Okay, biologically he could but that didn't make him ready!

She ignored his exclamation and closed her eyes as though concentrating and began to maneuver her hips more properly over him. The thin covering that was his silk pajamas meant Rikku was spared little of the resulting sensations.

"Where are you…" she seemed to ask herself more than him as she ground her hips into his, trying to match them up correctly without looking, her lips curled in a seductive grin. "Oh! There you are!" Her goal was sounded by a gasp of pleasure from them both and she immediately began to tease his arousal through the pajamas by rubbing herself perfectly against it. On reflex Riku arched into her and moaned slightly, briefly overcome by the sensation.

Again he tried to wiggle free, albeit only halfheartedly. Diva smirked at this. He was hooked, she only had to reel him in. She leaned to the side a bit, her lips brushing his ear. "Come on Riku… this is going to be fun… I _promise_… so just _relax_, and I'll take good care of you_._" she urged in a husky whisper, sending pleasant shivers through his body. Riku felt her words as much in his mind as he heard them through his ears. Feelings and urges, with Diva's voice, with his voice, with no voice at all, all assailed him, assuring that what was happening was good, very good. The urges strengthened and surged anew as she started another passionate kiss.

Riku continued to struggle and squirm under her but soon realized that aside from being futile it was having a rather negative effect. That being that his attempts to escape made his body rub up against Diva's, stimulating both of them and making Diva ever more excited. The heat, the energy between them was becoming overwhelming.

For Diva this had indeed all been wonderfully fun. Toying with Riku's hormones, watching, feeling his reactions to her, it was like having her own marionette with a brain. His small size made her feel all the more in control and his warm little body was perfect for cuddling with. She could do this all day. Indeed, she probably would eventually. However, there was something more pressing to get from him. As arousing as she herself was finding the experience, she needed him to be equally aroused. He was responding to her but it just wasn't quite enough yet. Now was the time to take this up a level.

She smiled wryly at his blushing face and proceeded to quickly pull the pajamas off, first unbuttoning his shirt, teasing his chest with her fingers as she did so. She then moved off of him a bit and went for his pants, any movement by Riku only seeming to make it easier for her to slip the silk garments off of him and throw them behind her. As she did so she also managed to pull the bed sheets out from under them before pulling them back enough to cover some of their lower bodies. It just made everything cozier.

She held him down on the bed again and gave an appreciative glance down at his arousal. Yes, he was _definitely_ responding to her. She just needed to tease him a bit more and he'd be ready. The smirk never leaving her lips she held the boy back on the bed with one hand and reached down to firmly grab his arousal with the other.

"Hold on a second! Don't- ah! You- we- can't do thi- ahhhm-ah!" If it was possible Riku was blushing even more than before but his plea was only answered by Diva giving his manhood a few eager pumps with her right hand, Riku losing control of his body as he arched back and his ability to speak coherently left him.

Diva was certainly no stranger to this appendage, though she still found it to be a curious aspect of male anatomy. It seemed so vulnerable having it hang out like that. She was no stranger to Riku's in particular, having played with him a bit after undressing him while he was unconscious. Her twisted mind had, as it was want to do, wandered into violent territory during her examination as she started to wonder just what would happen if she tore the appendage off. Would it grow back, or would he need a replacement?

Luckily for Riku's manhood that particular line of thought had ended quickly as Diva's instincts managed to get through to her unstable mind that Riku needed to be intact for this. Now harming the organ was the farthest thing from her thoughts as she concentrated on making sure Riku would be properly 'prepped' for the real thing. Despite all his resistance he was rapidly giving in.

Riku felt like his consciousness was being engulfed in a misty fog of pleasure. It was hard to think, let alone think straight, Diva was making him feel things he had rarely felt before and to a degree that he'd never even imagined. A short time later he managed to open his eyes as the ecstasy ebbed a bit and saw Diva staring at him with a look that somehow left little doubt about what she was about to do. He strained to move away but found it even more useless than before. Her lips curved into a lustful smile as she aligned her body with his, the bed sheet covering their lower ends and seeming to conspire with Diva to hold him where he was.

_Its time Riku… become one with me… climax inside me, be my lover!_

Closing her eyes she gyrated her torso as she guided him into her, enjoying the way he gasped and moaned, although she soon was humming her own body's delight. She went slowly, as maddening as it was for her, knowing it would be equally maddening for Riku. Having fully taken him into her, she began to move her hips rhythmically against his, bending back down to kiss him as they both continued to lose themselves in the pleasure.

Any chance Riku had of escaping was gone now and he knew it. Now he was using what little self control he still possessed to keep himself from releasing… well… what Diva seemed to want him to release. This was all wrong. He couldn't do this with her, no matter how good it felt, he'd be betraying everyone! Wouldn't he? If only he could manage to think straight for one moment then maybe- but oh she felt just _so_ good.

"This isn't right-" he panted and pled to no avail, "I can't, we can't- ah! Diva- ah! Di-ahhh!" he moaned as the pleasure took him near the edge yet again and Diva renewed her kisses.

_Its more than right Riku… this is destiny… this is me, choosing my destiny and you, you lucky little boy, you get to play a part._ Diva spoke into his mind, continuing in her relentless stimulation, both of them breathing hard now, their pleasure growing. With their lips otherwise engaged, their minds warred as Diva chipped away bit by bit at Riku's self control.

_Come on Riku… you know what I want… give it to me…_

_I… I can't!_

_You can._

_But I… I-_

_And you will...._

More and more Riku felt his chiropteran side urge him to agree. He was feeling so confused, and Diva felt so warm, so soft and smooth… she smelled so nice… she was just so… so amazing… his tenuous hold on his passions was slipping with every thought of her and every second that passed. He found himself putting his arms around her, clumsily kissing her neck and shoulders or rubbing his face in her breasts and sucking on them whenever her lips left his, excitement filling him at the pleasured sounds she made in return.

Riku had tried valiantly, he really had, but at this point it was useless. Diva was stronger and carried him along in her movements, and it felt too good to keep resisting once she managed to get him into a heavy rhythm with her. He was steadily giving in as they continued to grind against each other, Diva kissing him nearly senseless before sending his body into further convulsions with adept applications of her lips and teeth to his ears and neck.

"Diva! Ah!" His head arched back under her attentions and the rest of him followed suit, the stimulation of thrusting into the folds of her womanhood overwhelming him. "What are you… what are you… doing- to-ahh!" Diva silenced his disjointed questions, bending to kiss him, pulling him out of her slightly then ramming herself in again, loving how it made him quake under her and thrust back.

Yet again Diva was finding herself awed by how wonderful this boy was to play with. He even smelled cute! The way he said her name amid his pleasured gasps, the way he blushed as he tried to return her caresses and kisses, the way she could dominate him and get him to willingly submit, it was all a nirvana for someone like Diva. By now she had managed to get him moaning as they kissed, sounds that in turn caused an even stronger reaction within her, her thoughts and words continuing to urge him on, her voice calm and commanding between her heavy breaths and aroused coos.

"Riku…"

_Yes... that's right._

"More."

_You know you want to._

"Faster."

_Give into me. _

"Harder."

_Obey me._

"Don't stop."

_Pleasure me._

"_Don't_ stop!"

_Make love to me._

He moaned into her lips as they rocked on the bed together, utterly consumed by her seduction. "Diva… Di- va… _ah!_"

At this sensation and sound she smirked in the kiss. Damn it he was just too adorable for words! And the feel of him inside her… She was so aroused, so wet and hot, she couldn't hold back any longer, she needed the release. She moaned and purred ever louder as she gave in. She cried out in pleasure, her inner walls contracting and pulsing, her body contorting, thrusting, and taking him along for the ride, all the while goading him on. As she continued to cum she wildly raked her nails over his skin, her mouth loosing moans and cries that now seemed to hold a nearly animalistic quality. She could lose herself in this. It all felt so _damned_ good.

That was it. It was just too much stimulation for Riku's hormone-saturated body to bare. There was not just the sensation of her orgasming body upon him, the way she moaned now was somehow even more arousing to his ears. Coherent thought proceeded to completely abandon him and before he knew it he was thrusting and jerking into her, filling her with what she so desired. Most of his mind seemed to shut down to concentrate on the sensations and actions, her inner muscles' contractions and her bucking motions acting together to draw more and more of his essence out of him and into her while making the orgasm last and last. His consciousness seemed to submerge in a sea of bliss and for a time his every fear and worry about the situation vanished, leaving only the incredible pleasure. In addition, unknown to him, while their eyes remained largely shut while in the throws of coitus, when they did open Diva's were revealed to be her radiant blue feline form, while Riku's had shifted to the crimson shade that characterized Saya.

For Diva the achievement of getting Riku to peak had a two-fold reward. Firstly she was at long last gaining the special thing she needed to insure her future family. Secondly, it turned out the feeling of his hot fluids shooting through her in such a stimulated state was enough to cause her to climax again and again. She held onto the boy tightly, her body thrashing and spasming with his, cooing, gasping, moaning in pleasure as she rode out the best orgasm she had ever experienced. Her toes curled, her limbs thrashed, her breasts hardened. She was left in such a state of satiated rapture that her senses became utterly blind to everything except the boy in her arms and the warmth he was filling her with that powered a rush, a pleasure beyond any she had known before. At this point Diva became certain that the little chevalier had been created and existed solely to please her.

In the massive rush of hormones and emotions time lost all meaning for the two, nevertheless the nirvana inevitably came to an end. They lay together like this for a bit, breathing rapidly, their glazed eyes making neither seem very aware of their surroundings. Coming out of her own haze, Diva kissed Riku once more before she drew him out of herself and laid out on her back beside him. Her eyes remained glassy as the blue glow in them faded, and she giggled, holding herself as she squirmed about a bit, reveling in the pleasure that was still radiating in her.

"Mhmm… Riku… that was amazing," She bent to his ear, thanking him in a breathy tone and quick nibble that sent a tingle all over his body. She felt a strange compulsion to show her gratitude in some stronger way. He had after all given her his essence. If only she could put her essence in him the way he had into her. Yet the closest thing she had was her blood…

It would be almost perfect really, a gift fitting as thanks for him being so nice for her. Plus she would then be able to make certain no other woman would _ever_ have him. It was in fact the strongest reason she had had to kill him. Yet her body argued with her mind's twisted logic, it wanted more of this feeling with the living Riku, it was almost addicting. Those thoughts reminded her of her earlier decision to take him here and the ecstasy she had just experienced was at last enough to truly silence her homicidal tendencies.

Riku would live and be her pleasure toy. Yes, he would live for a long, long time. So long as he made her happy she would not allow anyone or anything to harm him. He would not die without her consent. And if she felt she really needed to show her gratitude, letting him live here as her own pampered consort should be adequate reward for now. He would be her special companion, distinct from her chevalier, and forever hers.

As for Riku, with the flood of hormones receding he was left to consider the reality of what had just happened. It was more than sobering for the fairly innocent boy. Either he had just been raped or he had willingly let Diva take his virginity. He was honestly unsure what option was more terrible to consider. He felt victimized, though not nearly as much as he felt he should have, and was ashamed that he had actually found any enjoyment in the experience, but couldn't deny it either.

This feeling of enjoyment was made even stranger in that Diva had done a bit of damage to him in the throes of passion. He knew that she had scratched his back up a fair bit while clinging to him and was also pretty sure her frenzied movements had pulled or sprained some of his muscles. Yet the pleasure had been so intense that he had barely noticed the pain, which even now was rapidly vanishing as his body healed the minor injuries in seconds.

More than anything though he was confused and overwhelmed. His emotions catching up with his thoughts, Riku's eyes, the red glow in them now faded away, began to moisten and he sniffled even as he continued to pant from his earlier exertions. He was still largely in shock over his actions though and thus spoke in an oddly calm tone as he expressed his thoughts. "How did I… how could I… what did you do to me? I've never done anything like this before… how did I even know how?"

Diva laid back again, her eyes shut and still basking in the afterglow. "As a chevalier you know how to do all sorts of things, including how to please your queen and be pleased as well." She stretched, erotically arching her back and moaning contentedly.

As for Riku, the magnitude of what he had just done was slowly dawning on him, his building tears threatening to break into outright sobs at any moment. _What have I… What have I done? No… this can't be happening, this can't be happening!_

She sighed in pleasure. "Mmm… though no one has ever given me that much pleasure before. You are everything I hoped you'd be. A perfect little chevalier lover who I can make helpless beneath me whenever I want." Indeed, that was an important selling point for Diva and she considered again how much she liked being the dominant one in the lovemaking. Riku was even smaller than her, and always would be as he would never age. Yes, for that reason and so many others he suited her perfectly.

Diva seemed to at last take notice of how upset he was and responded with a moderately tender look, leaning over him and lightly licking at his tears before placing her hands on his cheeks, deft caresses of her fingers proceeding down in a massage. "Poor boy," she cooed, feeling unusually sympathetic. "Were you scared? All of this has happened so quickly. However, these passions are just part of being a chiropteran, so why not enjoy them?"

Riku didn't answer her, but with a bit of effort Diva pressed her mind into his enough to get a sense of what he was thinking about. There she found the problem, the poor little chevalier was so wrapped up in the meaningless rules of human society that it was keeping him from enjoying his primal nature. Plus he was in her opinion just plain thinking too much.

"You don't need to worry, my little lover," she stared into his eyes, their noses touching, "no one will be ashamed of you here for following your instincts. To me it is the ultimate thrill, to let go of everything and exist from one moment to the next, to let your body do what it knows how to do, what it _wants_ to do, even if your head doesn't. Why think about anything if it makes you sad? If you have pleasure to focus on, then take it as a chance to ignore everything else."

It was honestly strange how much sense her words seemed to make to him and he couldn't help but feel enraptured at the attention. "You are truly mine now, so don't cry Riku," she continued to sooth him, caressing his face, her voice somehow like sweet music to his ears. "I did all this because I wanted you. It was fun chasing you, and even more fun catching you. You were so nice to give me what I needed, and great pleasure as well. So now you will smile that sweet smile of yours just for me, because I'm going to take very good care of you, forever and ever."

"For-forever?" he repeated, trying to shake the pleasant haze that was once more claiming his mind under her voice and touch.

Diva nodded and touched her nose to his, looking positively impish. "Things are going to be so much more fun now Riku. You will be my most precious lover, my bedmate and consort. And together… we'll make a family so wonderful that you'll forget all about your old life. Your blood knows it already, knows that you belong here with me. _In_ me. Loving and serving me alone. So just listen to your instincts Riku, and follow them… stay here… with me…"

She proceeded to kiss him, deeply and passionately for several minutes, in a way that Riku found strangely comforting as much as arousing. It was also simply some relief to know that she wasn't planning on killing him any time soon. His thoughts swam as she at last released him and he tried to recall just what he had been upset over. "B-But… Saya- and Kai- will c-come for me," he panted as he tried to catch his breath, not sure why it ended up sounding like he was warning her out of concern rather than threatening her.

Diva smiled at him as though he were spouting naïve nonsense. "I'm sure Saya will try, but she won't ever take you away from me, I'll make sure of it. First she'd have to find us, and that won't be easy. I've hidden from Saya for most of my life after all. Plus, your brother will have things of his own to deal with, now that he is also one of mine."

Riku's eyes widened and he found his thoughts suddenly much clearer. "What did you do to Kai?"

"Made him my chevalier of course. Now when he comes to serve me you two will be able to be together as well," she finished with a sweet smile and held him close to her, his blushing face partially nestled between her shapely breasts.

"Now I know you don't sleep Riku," she purred, "but still, I want to hold you tonight, maybe every night. After all, I can't have you getting silly ideas and trying to wander off."

She yawned and Riku stifled his traitorous thoughts about how cute she sounded doing it, as well as what great pillows her breasts made, trying to focus on the unsettling things he had just learned. Being her personal teddy bear and being confined to the room were one thing but finding out his brother was now Diva's chevalier was another. Of Riku's siblings Kai had had the hardest time dealing with him becoming a chevalier, and Riku feared what toll becoming one himself might take. Yet for now he could do little beyond hoping that Kai would be strong. He hoped the same for himself as he lay skin-to-skin with the girl who had once more turned his whole life upside down and perhaps twisted his mind to her will. How could something feel so wrong and yet so right?

As for Diva, she murmured happily and began to drift off to sleep. "Mmm… Riku… you feel so warm… so much nicer than those… boring stuffed dolls… Amshel keeps… giving me…"

--

"What do you mean we '_CAN'T_' go after Riku?!"

David had never seen Saya so angry at him before. The most obvious evidence being that she had never before lit her eyes up against him. That and the way she was gripping her sword left him more than a touch concerned. Haji for his part looked as he always did, stoic and prepared to do whatever Saya wanted whenever she wanted it. That didn't help him feel any better.

Still, he was not a high ranking member of Red Shield for nothing and managed to steel himself against the fear as he replied. "We have no idea where he is being held Saya. To look for him with no information would be pointless. Also the fact that Diva took him alive gives us reason to believe he will be safe for the time being. It's unlikely they would have gone through all this trouble to kidnap him if their purpose was only to kill him. So for now I must ask you to be patient."

Her eyes flared brighter. "Patient?! Do you have any idea what she could be doing to him! You expect me to just wait here until what little is left of your men come up with something?!"

That had been a low blow, made all the worse by how true it had been. Diva had humbled the Red Shield and all of their advanced defenses with terrible ease. David did not hold it against Saya for losing her cool, but that remark did give him reason to voice his own painful truth.

"And if we do find him now just what do you expect you will be able to do?" he began. "It is certainly true that you are the only one capable of stopping Diva, yet from what I have observed you are far from achieving that capability. In both your encounters Diva has overpowered you with ease all on her own. Do you really think you would stand a chance against both her AND her chevaliers?"

The light in Saya's eyes dimmed as her expression turned to one of shame. It was true. She had been able to do next to nothing against Diva, she had even forgotten to put blood on her blade, though if she hadn't forgotten she supposed Diva would never have allowed her stab to succeed. She took a breath and tried to consider just what their situation was.

Things had been very hectic in the hours following Riku's abduction. They had barely managed to grab Kai and escape the ship before it exploded, uselessly sacrificed as Diva was no longer even on the boat. The remaining members of the Red Shield had split up and were laying low in various rented buildings for fear of Diva's chevalier attempting the attack they had initially planned. Joel was in the hospital, receiving treatment for a wound that would likely leave him paralyzed for life. To make matters worse Julia and Collins had yet to report in. For all practical purposes Red Shield had been broken. Then there was Kai, still unconscious and now a chevalier of Diva.

The members of the Schiff who had lived long enough for Saya to restore them stood to the side silently observing the argument, save for Irene who was watching over Kai in a makeshift sick bay nearby. They had all been out patrolling the city for signs of activity that could identify Diva and her chevalier's whereabouts when Diva's impromptu raid had occurred and were unable to arrive in time to do anything to help. They all still wore their typical tattered robes and hoods, out of habit more than necessity, as the sun no longer harmed them. They were also still good for helping make it hard for an enemy to single out any individual in a fight, especially at night, and they disrupted their profiles enough to help them dodge some attacks that would otherwise find their marks.

As the leader of the group of experimental chevaliers, Moses was taking an analytical approach to the night's events and interpreting just what they meant for future conflicts. "It is most unsettling…" he remarked, catching Lulu, Darth, Gudrif and Karmen's attention. "To think that the combined forces of Red Shield, Haji and Saya proved to not be enough to stop Diva from accomplishing what she came to do. Should we ever have the opportunity to face her ourselves, we will need to exercise the utmost caution."

While the other two nodded in silent agreement, the large Darth grumbled, a look of distaste in his expression. "All of that just to take some brat kid chevalier. I don't understand a bit of it."

"Neither do I," Moses replied, "yet it has happened and we owe it to Saya to help her through this in whatever way we can."

"Kai too," the diminutive Lulu pointed out, holding her battle-ax close like a security blanket. "It's only because of him and Irene that we and Saya aren't still trying to kill each other. I hate imagining how upset he'll be when he wakes up." She gave a concerned look toward the room where Kai lay unconscious.

"Irene will be there for him," Gudrif said, trying his hand at thinking positive, "she's good at that kind of… thing… comforting people and all. Besides, he may not like it but the fact is that adding another chevalier to our side gives us more of an advantage against Diva."

"That's assuming we'll be able to trust him after he changes," Karman remarked with a frown.

"Karman!" Lulu scolded him, her expression somehow cute despite her anger and shock. "Don't say things like that! It's rude!"

Karman grumbled and kept his frown, "take it easy… you're as damned defensive of him as Irene." He then crossed his arms and sighed. "It's not like I have anything against the guy, I know we owe him, but the fact remains he's Diva's chevalier now. How do you know he's still the Kai you think he is?"

"Kai wouldn't betray us!" Lulu cried back.

Karman looked her in the eye. "Blind trust is foolish Lulu. After all, who would of thought that scientist woman would get in league with Diva?"

"That remains pure speculation!" David snapped, really losing his cool now and revealing he had been listening in. The room went quiet and the air temperature seemed to drop. Everyone essentially knew that if they didn't receive contact soon then it would need to be assumed that Julia and Collins had either betrayed them, gotten captured, or been killed. That didn't make it any easier to accept.

Karman, still unused to working alongside them, had been shocked at being spoken to like that by a human and was about to give a retort when Moses clapped a hand over his mouth. "And it would be more foolish for you to keep inciting arguments. Calm yourself, remember we are allies, not enemies." Karman glared back at him but relented.

Moses continued, "as for Kai, remember that we were made from Saya's blood, but that did not stop us from trying to kill her. We may not be true chevalier, but I believe Kai will be able to choose for himself just as we have. His blood cannot force him to serve Diva."

_He can say that,_ Saya remarked to herself, _but I can't underestimate just what this accursed blood of ours can force someone to do. What I did in Vietnam proved that. But even still… I refuse to believe Kai would ever betray us._

Trying to ease the tension in the room, Lewis extended a comforting hand to Saya's shoulder. "Look, we'll make a plan, you'll see. It's just going to take a bit of time is all." Saya couldn't find it in her to yell at him but didn't nod or look at him in reply, simply hanging her head in sorrow. No words could help right now, no matter how well-intentioned. It was very clear to her now that it would be some time before a rescue of any kind might be attempted.

David sighed, putting a hand to his head in fatigue. He hadn't slept at all during the night and had been up all day previous dealing with Solomon's warning about a planned attack on Red Shield. Yet the attack that had occurred was so different from what he had expected. Not only was it earlier than Solomon had claimed but Diva had come in person. In addition there was only one chevalier with her. It had been enough to largely convince him that Diva's raid had not been related to the attack they had been warned about and indeed Solomon may not have even had knowledge of it.

Of course that left the obvious question of motivation. "Do we have any idea yet why Diva kidnapped him? Saya, I know you're upset but its important you tell us everything. We already spoke with Haji but he deemed it inappropriate to speak on this matter in your place and wished for you to tell us when you were ready.

Saya wasn't sure if she liked it or not, though she was grateful for Haji's concern for her feelings, she still didn't want to talk about the troubling conclusions she had drawn about Diva's abduction of Riku. "She said…" she grimaced at the memory, "she said she would be taking care of him, that he was hers now… like she saw him as some kind of toy or something!"

She sighed and continued. "More than that… she said she wanted to know what it felt like to take something of mine and make it her own. She even acted like she liked Riku, but she could have done that just to spite me," she finished sharply. "Still… it does make me think that you are probably right, that she isn't planning on killing him right away. But that hardly guarantees anything. Diva's insane, there's no telling what little thing might set her off and have her take it out on Riku. He may be a chevalier, but his abilities have barely developed, I know she could still kill him easily if she wanted to, even without using her blood."

"So could this be some crazy extreme version of sibling rivalry?" Lewis asked as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"It very well could be," David replied. "Yet the fact is we know very little about Diva's personal life or what motivates her to do anything. Her psychosis complicates things further as due to it her actions need not necessarily have any rational basis."

Saya nodded absently, her mind elsewhere. She had not voiced all her thoughts concerning the reason for Riku's abduction. She had not mentioned how his shirt had been ripped open and his hair tousled, had not spoken about the look of desire in her sister's eyes when looking at Riku. She knew it was desire, she had seen similar looks from Dr. Julia toward David, from Mao to Kai, and she was pretty sure she had let a few such looks get directed toward Haji (when she was reasonably sure he wouldn't notice of course). Indeed, her link with Diva meant she had literally felt some of that desire.

These were not things she wanted to share, not when nothing could be done about them. All the same, it scared her to think about what that could mean, about what might happen to someone Diva felt such desires for. For all Saya knew to Diva feeling lust meant a one-night stand that ended with her consort drained of blood and their head mounted on a wall.

Still, this fear also reinforced her resolve to take some major steps in the war with her sister, steps she had been too afraid to take until now. Standing from the seat she had been resting in, she bowed slightly to Lewis and David. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to go to my room now. I need time to think on some things. Haji, please come with me."

Haji gave his own slight bow to the Red Shield members and faced her. "As you wish."

--

Amshel sighed, allowing himself a moment to muse on the irony that it was possible to feel so relieved and so displeased at the same time. Relieved that Diva was safe and secure in her room, and displeased that she had not only gone on such a reckless escapade but had brought back a new problem for him to deal with, Saya's chevalier/younger brother and now apparently Diva's chosen bridegroom. Across from him stood his fellow chevalier Solomon, who had just finished recounting the events of earlier in the night.

Solomon was not exactly happy either. Diva and Karl had vanished without a trace only to reappear a few hours later. Neither had yet seen Diva, who had left Karl with explicit orders that while she was in her room "playing" she was not be disturbed for any reason whatsoever. However, Solomon had managed to get Karl to tell him what he knew about what had occurred. He was after all the only one of his brothers who could have a civil conversation with the insane chevalier. Then it fell to him to inform Amshel and attempt to run what damage control he could. At the very least this would cause his elder brother to think even less of Karl than he did already.

Though it did not show on his face, Amshel was indeed angry. Diva's disappearing act had interrupted his meeting with two former Red Shield agents, two scientists whose knowledge of chiropterans could prove very useful to his future plans. He needed their loyalty, at least for now, and failing to meet with them was not a good way to start working with them. That Diva had apparently acted with disregard to his plans for filling the world with chiropteran through artificial means was irritating as well.

He knew Diva wanted children and over the years he had tried every way he knew to impregnate her, every way except using a chevalier of Saya, for Diva had not chosen Haji. Even so, she should have allowed him to plan out this boy's capture. If she had then his prepared assault on Red Shield headquarters might have gone as planned. Instead it had been scrapped as Red Shield had no doubt scattered and gone into hiding, broken but still a potential threat.

Regardless, what was done was done. The real question was what to do now. "Karl should not have been left alone with her," he remarked, barely hiding his disdain, "he has proven once again to be unreliable."

"Are you saying that you would have refused Diva's command big brother?" Solomon asked in an attempt to reason with him without overtly defending Karl.

Amshel frowned. "No, I would have convinced her to not go about it so recklessly. The experiments that began with the Schiff are bearing fruit. It is possible that in time I could have eventually developed a artificial chevalier capable of impregnating her."

Solomon shook his head a bit. "I doubt she would have gone along with any consort chosen by you. Not after all those past attempts ended in failure. With all due respect big brother, I believe Diva had some time ago given up on relying on you to give her a family. She also had become increasingly fixated on that boy, ever since she fed on him at the Zoo. This seems to have been something she prepared and planned for herself."

However, Amshel was not distracted easily as he now returned to his earlier point. "The fact remains her and Karl's actions have complicated things for us, given new variables that must be addressed."

"That much I agree with," Solomon remarked. "And yet, as things are we have no reliable way of telling if Diva's instincts are right. And if she does become pregnant we have no idea how or when the pregnancy will manifest."

"That much can be studied and monitored," Amshel said. "No, my concern lies with that boy. If Diva intends to keep him he could become a severe security risk. More than that, he is an unknown variable whose influence could have unforeseen consequences."

"I am sure James would agree," Solomon replied as a way to not voice that he had no desire himself to harm the boy. "However, it is out of our hands if Diva desires to have him here. The best we can do is monitor his movements and increase security."

Amshel scoffed, "such a bother." He turned away. "Once Diva leaves her room inform her that I wish to speak with her. Perhaps I can yet persuade her to dispose of the boy now that she has gotten what she needs from him." Amshel walked on, resolving that the scenario he had planned for Diva would come to pass. He would allow nothing to interfere with it, let alone this mere boy of a chevalier.

Solomon looked on, not for the first or last time questioning the wisdom of his brother's enigmatic ambitions.

--

Haji was not usually what one would call talkative. Still, he felt he needed to say something as he closed and locked the door, turning to watch Saya stand silently with her back to him. The only light in the room was provided through the windows by the moon, stars and the city around them, but it was enough for the two chiropterans to see by.

"Shall I search for him Saya? My ability to sense the presence of Diva and her chevalier is limited, however I believe I could detect Riku more easily as he is of your blood. It is possible that I could track them down."

Saya turned to him, her face in tears "And then what? You'll only die if you confront them Haji… David is right, neither of us can go against Diva like that. In fact, in all this time we've only ever chased after her and cleaned up the messes she's made. And now… now I just know its too late…"

"You believe that Riku is dead?"

"No… or at least I believe Diva didn't plan on killing him for a while. She's not the kind of person who waits on things like that. Yeah… she doesn't like to wait…" her voice turned to a disgusted tone as she finished.

"I will do as you ask Saya, but if Riku is alive why not search for him?"

"I want to search for him!" she cried back. "I just know it's pointless! If Diva doesn't want to be found then she won't be! Think about it, we've always just tracked her chevaliers because Diva is only ever behind the scenes. I knew it when I saw her take him… I could feel it from her in my mind… I just didn't want to believe it. Diva is going to be lying low for some time. Now that she has Riku she won't want to risk having him taken back… not until she's done with him or until she is forced to make herself seen."

"Saya… what are you sa-"

"Don't make me say it Haji!" Saya now yelled, hot tears travelling down her cheeks. "I saw the way she looked at him! She wants- she wants him! And I think it's because of me, because of what I made him become. I could feel it, she wanted him so badly that unless he's dead or somehow escaped then by now she's already… already…" she couldn't finish her words and broke down into sobs.

Haji held her close, now realizing just what Saya had meant. "Riku has more strength than he realizes… I will not tell you things will be okay, but I truly believe he may not be lost to us."

Her sobs quieted. "It's for that reason… and for so much more… that I have to do this… but first I need to know… I need to know…" she trailed off again before at last continuing. "Why is Diva so much stronger than me? I haven't even been able to scratch her no matter how hard I try. She doesn't even use a sword and yet I'm nothing against her."

Haji was silent and stoic as ever as he considered how best to reply. He knew Saya knew, or at least suspected, the answer, but wanted him to confirm it for her. He ended up going with his typical blunt, yet compassionate method. "It seems likely that Diva's indulgence of her blood lust enables her greater abilities. Since your awakening you have drank blood on only a few occasions."

"But it wasn't always like that…" Saya mused. "Back when it was just us… back when we traveled the world together… I…" she blushed slightly, "I took blood from you whenever I needed it just as you took it from me when you needed it. But now… after what happened in Vietnam, I'm so afraid Haji… I'm afraid to drink your blood or anyone else's. Even back when I did, I still wasn't as strong as Diva or her chevaliers. You've always been stronger, even now when you only drink blood Red Shield provides you. So what else am I missing, just what is wrong with me?"

Haji stared back at her, hesitant to reply. "You will not like the answer."

"Then just tell me and get it over with!" Saya snapped back, only for her face to fall in shame at her outburst. "I'm sorry Haji… I'm not angry with you… I just… I'm so frustrated I…"

She was at a loss for words and so Haji put a finger to her lips to reassure her. "You despise being a chiropteran Saya. You have from the very day you made me your chevalier. Your blood grants you the power to kill Diva but you fight as a human. It could be that your focus on sword techniques along with your distaste for behaving at all like a chiropteran, have caused some of your abilities to atrophy. Diva seems to make frequent, even casual, use of her powers."

"So basically… Diva drinks a lot of blood, uses her powers a lot, and above all enjoys doing it?"

"Yes," Haji replied curtly.

"Then…" Saya's expression wavered, a storm of emotions and thoughts rushing through her, but soon her resolve was set, "I will have to do the same… if I'm to ever get Riku back. I'll have to become more like… Diva" she spat out the words as though they tasted bad. At the same time she was assaulted anew with memories of her rampage in Vietnam. If she did as Haji suggested and got more in touch with her chiropteran side, she would little doubt become stronger, but what if she snapped again? What if indulging her chiropteran lusts ended up making her into something even more terrible than Diva had ever been?

"Saya… you should rest."

"No," she replied sternly. "There's something else I need to do, right now while I still have this resolve. If I don't… I may never be able to, even for Riku."

Her eyes met Haji's and turned crimson as her fangs lengthened. "Your blood Haji. Please, let me take some of it."

Even as she spoke she trembled, already losing some of her nerve as memory after memory of Vietnam flashed through her mind. Haji, however, seemed calm enough for the both of them. He simply gave her a slight nod, not bothered in the least by her request. Indeed, he even seemed relieved.

Saya watched as Haji produced one of his innumerable throwing knives and without the slightest hint of pain cut a slice deep into the palm of his chevalier hand. Her vision began to cloud a deep red as she stared at his blood oozing up from the wound. She felt odd desires stirring within her and without consciously willing it she grabbed his outstretched hand and brought it to her mouth, proceeding to lap at the red liquid as if from a saucer.

At first she thought little of the blood, her embarrassment and apprehension drowning everything else out. But as she tentatively drank from his hand, the strange desires within her became ever more fervent. She felt a bit dazed, her thoughts cloudy and her body heating up as her heart pounded faster and faster. She began to realize just how incredibly _good _Haji's blood tasted and how pleasurable it was to drink directly from a living source. Her heartbeat quickened and she began to suck at the wound rather than just lap it up. She wanted _more,_ so much _more._

It felt as though there was another person inside her, a person who was currently taking over, a person who was far too much like Diva for her liking. Yes… her other self, though she also thought of Diva like this, it referred to Saya's own chiropteran side in this case.

She recalled the fierce efficiency of her other side, the one that Haji's blood had awakened months before, the one that had calmly asked for her sword before cutting the enemy cleanly in two. In Vietnam that had been her as well, albeit in a far more untamed state. Then when she returned there and heard Diva's song she had nearly gone back to that state, slaying an entire room full of young chiropterans but also injuring an ally and violently sucking blood from Haji's neck.

Her other side truly frightened and disgusted her. She hated knowing there was such a primal, savage element to her personality, one that reveled in blood shed and carnal pleasure. So she usually acted as though it did not exist. Refusing to acknowledge it though only seemed to cause further problems. Namely her awareness of her other self allowed her to suppress it even when she went into the red-eyed state, and unfortunately this made her a slower, clumsier, and weaker fighter.

She had never truly merged with her other nature, never fully accepted it. And now that other side wanted nothing more than to have her way with Haji while draining him. No… if anything Diva was her other self. She needed to recognize this side of her for what it was, a true part of herself. How to do so without losing herself in it was the question. It must be possible. After all, when Haji had first awakened her and this side took control she had still acted to protect her loved ones, even if she had done so in an aloof, cold manner.

She now found that Haji's self-inflicted wound had closed up, depriving her of his blood. Frustration and impatience welled within her and she became all the more aware of her seldom-used fangs as she thirsted. What she'd gotten so far felt like nothing but a snack, she needed MORE. To both her own and Haji's surprise she growled a bit at his healed hand. Her still lit crimson eyes met his gentle ones as she felt her thirst, her other side, taking over more and more. She hesitated, panting, her eyes drawn to the large blood supply she could sense coursing through his neck, his warm, savory, mouth-watering blood.

"Haji…" she gasped, frightened and exhilarated. She wanted his blood so badly, but her fear of hurting him was just barely managing to keep her from acting on it.

Haji nodded in understanding and loosened his suit around the neck, then drew her close in his arms, bringing her mouth near it. "Drink from me Saya, it is my duty and honor that you do so."

Saya barely heard his words. Being so near so much of Haji's blood after largely abstaining for so long was maddening. Now she couldn't even hear her own thoughts. There was only the overpowering hunger and the scent of blood. With a sound that seemed far too animalistic to have come from her, Saya practically pounced on Haji's neck and bit into him with her fangs to begin fiercely draining him.

Despite being a good deal taller, Haji was still sent stumbling back from the sheer force of her 'attack.' He leaned against the wall to support them, trying to hold Saya steady as she climbed him, arms flailing for a good grip, legs searching for a bit of traction and all of her rubbing against him as her blood lust overcame her. Finally getting perfect purchase by wrapping her legs and arms around him, she proceeded to suck away at his neck with abandon, biting anew every minute or so to keep the wound open.

Haji had managed to get them into a stable position, one arm around Saya to support her and another braced against the wall he was leaning on, but now he faced the problem of how his own body was reacting to Saya's.

In the past she had never allowed herself to get so 'excited' while feeding and so what he had normally been able to consider merely a fairly intimate and pleasant chore was now feeling incredibly sensual. He fought to keep himself from being aroused and when that failed merely tried to keep Saya from noticing how his breathing had sped up and how tight his pants now were in a certain location.

However, Saya was actually far too engrossed by her own pleasure to take any notice of such details from Haji and merely continued to intermittently utter contented moans as she fed. She not only reveled in his taste but in the feelings of security and warmth from being so close to him.

The pleasure Haji felt was truly unique to chevalier, the pain of Saya's bite rapidly giving way to a sense of ecstasy. He strongly suspected that Saya's (and by extension Diva's) saliva had properties that not only soothed pain but had powerful aphrodisiac effects, both only working on chevalier and thus encouraging them to let a queen feed from them. However, there was such a thing as too much of a good thing and after a couple minutes Haji felt himself growing increasingly light headed. "Saya…" he groaned at last, "enough!"

In an instant the glow faded from Saya's eyes. She gasped in shock from coming out of her frenzied state which in turn caused her to gag on the blood that was still in her throat. Coughing and dizzy from the rush of feelings she semi-collapsed into Haji, who somehow managed to stay standing and hold her in his weakened state. Soon he could hear her quietly crying.

"It was… it was almost like Vietnam… but somehow… somehow I managed to stop this time when I heard your voice… does that mean I can control it?" She felt too ashamed to admit that she had actually found the experience extremely pleasurable, only her fear of hurting Haji or others marring it. Clearly, no queen could be entirely trusted around more 'breakable' people when feeding like this.

"Saya I believe you are more capable of many things than you realize," he replied, his voice betraying some fatigue. "I apologize, normally you would have been able to feed longer. However, I lost a substantial amount of blood and energy from my injuries on the ship. I have not yet had opportunity to replace it. If you will excuse me, I will ask David if any blood is available," with that said he straightened his ruffled suit and turned to leave.

Saya felt a deep sense of guilt well up in her and spoke before he could open the door. "Then perhaps… perhaps my blood would be better for healing you?"

Haji turned to her, appearing somewhat surprised, which meant he was very surprised. "You wish for me to feed from you?"

Saya could feel her face heating up and was hoping Haji couldn't see enough in the dark to tell how much she was blushing. She felt too self-conscious to meet his eyes but held out her right wrist to him. "Just please… make it quick."

"Of course." Haji stepped forward and knelt down on one knee, using his human hand to take hers gently to his mouth. If anyone had been watching they would have thought he was kneeling to kiss her hand as one would with some royalty.

Saya fought to keep herself from trembling as goose bumps spread over her skin. She could feel Haji's warm breath on her hand as he turned her wrist and pressed his mouth to it. She gulped, _get a grip Saya! Just a minute ago you were sucking on his neck! Haji doing this is nothing compared to that, and he's done this to you before! Though now that I think about it… I tended to always get a bit flustered when he fed from me…_

Noticing her nervousness he stopped and looked up at her. "Saya, I swear I will not harm you, nor will I continue if you do not wish it."

Saya shook her head and tried her best to give him a confidant look. "Its all right Haji, we both need to be as strong as we can be and I trust you. It's myself that I don't trust. Now just do it, I want you to."

Haji looked like he doubted her supposed lack of fear, but went along with her command anyway. Saya felt a brief pinch as his fangs penetrated her wrist, then slowly withdrew. Haji then closed his lips around the area of the bite and with incredible gentleness proceeded to drink.

Saya was amazed by how quickly the pain left her, it was different from the relief her regeneration abilities gave. What's more Haji was not even sucking on the wound. Rather he seemed to let the blood that leaked out of her pool in his mouth to a point where he would then swallow it. This method, though, meant the wound stayed open even shorter than it normally would via a bite and soon he had licked off the last of the blood on her now unmarred skin.

Saya looked at him in confusion as he stood back up. She had actually enjoyed that a fair bit. It had been strangely intimate and comforting to her, even if lacking the passion she had felt earlier. "Haji, why did you stop? I know I said to be quick but it really wasn't so bad so you can have more if you want," she remarked, trying to not sound too eager.

Haji closed his eyes and shook his head. "Your blood is powerful Saya, I do not require much to sate my needs. If I continued to drink, I could risk one of us taking this further than you wish it to go."

'_One of us taking it further?' What does he… oh…_Saya felt the blush returning and noted that Haji did seem to be breathing a bit more heavily than before. She tried to ignore how aroused she had subconsciously become, succeeding when she remembered her main concern.

Saya looked at him, perplexed. "How did you do it? How did you learn to control the thirst like that?"

"It is more than learning," Haji replied, his breathing still a bit fast as he calmed down, "it is not losing sight of what is important. When I was feeding I thought only about you Saya. I could never knowingly do anything to harm you, and I have no desire to see you upset. You see, although it may act like a monster, the chiropteran in each of us does possess loyalty and knowledge of what is important, the people who are important, just as a human does. Keep in mind what is important to you and you will never harm the innocent or your loved ones when you feed. However, if you feed in a state of fear and rage you risk losing yourself."

"Is that…" she paused, choking back a sob before continuing in a louder, desperate tone "Is that why I killed all those innocent people in Vietnam?! Why I hurt you?! I had no reason to be so enraged back then but I still couldn't stop myself!" Saya cried back. The only answer she could find was that deep inside she was every bit as cruel and monstrous as Diva.

"I will say it is possible that as a queen your chiropteran instincts are harder to control than mine. Even so, I do not believe that is the main reason. Saya, remember you were awakened artificially," Haji replied, his expression becoming more intense.

He almost looked angry. What happened in Vietnam had deeply effected him, indeed it had caused him to retreat emotionally into a shell of his former self. He had felt betrayed that day, by the Red Shield (for performing the injection that caused it all) and by Saya, for he could never forget the way she had glared at him as he begged her to stop, the utter lack of recognition, the feral rage in her eyes. With that look she had seemed more a beast than human. There was no need to forgive her, for he had understood it was not her fault, but the pain remained even now.

None of that changed his feelings though, he still cared for Saya more than anything else and so he spoke further on the matter, even if it meant recalling those painful memories. "Your sleep was interrupted early, and more than that you were given the blood of your chevalier without the chevalier present and via injection instead of by feeding. All of that interfered with the natural processes intended for queens in their hibernation cycles."

He calmed a bit and took her hand. "When you first awaken Saya you are never in a very lucid state. It is important that you be kept alone with a chevalier for a period to acclimate your mind to your awakened state, to feed and be allowed near a warm body. In a way it is fortunate that the trauma of what happened in Vietnam caused you to lose your memories and suppressed your chiropteran side. Had it not, you could have attacked George when you awoke in Okinawa."

"It's still no excuse!" She softened her tone and looked down, seeming to reminisce. "Vietnam proved all the more that I was right to have made that promise with you. I don't deserve to live Haji, its nothing but delusional for me to think otherwise. Which is why it will all end once I end Diva's life. If I can save Riku I will, but first I need to get stronger and I can only think of one way that won't put people in danger. And so I…"

She trailed off and looked away, seeming to stare into space as she considered her words, then finally speaking, trying to disguise her wavering tone. "I… I can't stay here…"

Haji raised an eyebrow. "Saya?"

Saya tightened her fists in resolve, seeming to speak to herself. "I realize now, I've been trying to fight as a human this whole time. I can't do that anymore and Red Shield can't help me in this. As I am I'll get in the way and put them all in more danger."

She turned to him. "Haji, I need to go away from here for awhile. I want you to take me somewhere far away, far from any people, far from anyone I can kill. I need to learn how to control my chiropteran side so I can be as strong as Diva, or stronger."

Haji paused as he digested the information, then nodded solemnly. "If that is your desire, then we can leave whenever you are ready. I know of many such remote locations."

Saya's expression brightened slightly, glad that Haji had no objections. "Of course, we'll stay in contact with Red Shield, and all of us can keep looking for clues about Riku."

"Yes, however supplies will be a problem," Haji replied. "If you are to feed on me for your strength, please realize I will have to feed as well. And if we are isolated, I will not have the blood that Red Shield normally supplies me with."

Saya looked confused. "Haji, what do you mean?"

"I am merely warning you ahead of time that I will likely have to feed from animals on occasion."

Now Saya smiled, glad for the polite gesture. In their past travels Haji had at times had to kill things such as rabbits and medium-sized birds for his own sustenance. In particularly trying times when Haji was too weak to safely provide blood Saya would even feed from such things, but it always made her feel squeamish and she never enjoyed doing it or watching it be done. "It's nothing new Haji… but thank you. And you should be able to…" she _really _wished she would stop blushing, "um, feed… from me a lot of the time."

Haji nodded, he wasn't smiling but his expression wasn't as grim as before either. "When shall we leave?"

"As soon as we can. Just give me time to pack up a few things and tell the others."

"Are you sure?" Haji asked. "You have not had any rest this night."

Saya gave him a look that indicated her mind was set on this. "I have thirty years to rest. I'll do it then. Besides…" she looked down, appearing ashamed, "I want to go before Kai wakes up. I know it's selfish and cowardly, but I just can't face him right now, not after losing Riku. He'll probably hate me for it, but I just know that he would try to convince me to stay or let him come with us. But he's a chevalier now, and I don't understand myself enough to even begin helping him. We would just hold each other back."

Haji nodded, "I understand."

"There is one other thing Haji."

He looked at her as she continued. "After we leave, when we're training… if I go out of control again, like I did in Vietnam, and you can't snap me out of it… I need you to promise that you'll stop me, even if you have to kill me."

Haji was silent for a moment, masking the various emotions he felt churn in him from the request and in the end chose to ask a practical question about it. "Then what of Diva?"

Saya tensed noticeably. "If I can't learn to control the rage then I will be a greater danger to people than Diva is. I need to know you will stop me Haji, and not the way you tried to in Vietnam. I need you to do more than block or hold me back, you will have to attack me. Back then I couldn't beat Karl on my own, so you would have a chance I think. When I'm in that state all my fighting is instinctual, which means a smart fighter like you would be able to anticipate my movements and get in a clean hit. You told me yourself how much you understood my sword fighting. Once you do get inside my defense, don't hold back. If stabbing me through the torso doesn't snap me out of it, then go for my head. Even a chiropteran dies if its head is taken completely off."

She took a breath, clearly emotionally and physically exhausted. Tears began to form in Saya's eyes again as she clutched the hilt of her sword so tightly one might fear it would break. "I hate this… I hate it all! I hate it so much… what I've done… what I am… and how I'll have to become even more of a monster to end this forever. I have so much blood on my hands… every life I took that day, every life Diva has taken from the day I freed her, they are my responsibility. And I know so many more are going to die before this is over… all because monsters like Diva and I were born into this world."

Haji came close to her, tilting her head back with a hand to her chin to look her in the eye. "Humans can also be monsters. Chiropterans are not the root of all evil Saya, least of all you."

"How can you say that?!" Saya seemed nearly hysterical now. "Humans don't run around like mindless machines slaughtering people because they woke up the wrong way! Humans don't turn their little brothers into something their sister wants to rape! And humans… for all the evil they do they at least are limited by short life spans!"

She babbled on, her words lost as she sobbed into Haji's chest, the events of the night finally catching up to her. It was not long before she had cried herself to sleep.

He carried her to her bed and laid her out on it with utmost care. "I will prepare for our departure," he said softly in her ear. "For now, please take what rest you can." He hoped Saya would not be too hard on herself over this after everything she had said about leaving right away. He also tried to keep his mind off what Saya had earlier remarked, to herself seemingly, as her sobs quieted and shortly before falling asleep.

"Me and Diva… we are the only real chiropterans, the only ones that keep the species going… and we don't deserve to exist."

--

Not being able to sleep but being kept in place by Diva's embrace meant Riku had been given a lot of time to think that night. Never in his young life had he imagined he'd be in a situation like this, naked in bed with a vampire queen who sought him out to get pregnant. Still, he had adjusted to a lot of strange things in recent months. There was the death of his adoptive father and the revelation that nightmarish blood-sucking monsters roamed the world. Then there was leaving home with a secret government agency to fight a secret war, falling off a moving train, discovering his adopted sister was a chiropteran and being turned into one after nearly dying from being fed on by the same girl he was now in bed with. Really he had handled it all quite well.

So his main thoughts had not been bemoaning his current situation but rather his reaction to it. He had been so confused at first and still was, yet one thing had become clear. He could have fought Diva more, he could have cried and screamed, even though he was fearful of how she might have reacted. And in spite of how wrong this whole situation felt, he couldn't deny that he had _enjoyed_ being 'claimed' by Diva, as though his chiropteran side felt it was some great honor.

He should have felt worse about what had happened. It was a horrible crime, a life-shattering violation that should have traumatized his young mind. And yet he did not feel particularly upset. At first he had thought he must have been in some kind of shock. After all, his abduction and all that followed still felt so surreal. Yet by now his head should have cleared enough to think rationally. He thought back to just what had happened, starting with how he had ended up in her arms.

After their initial… activities… She had held him like this throughout the night and yet he wasn't bored, nor did he have any particular desire for her to let go of him. He, or at least some part of him, wanted to be with Diva, and that realization ate away at his conscience more than anything else. He felt sick and dirty for it but it was true all the same. He wanted to see Kai and Saya again, that had not changed, yet he did not want to leave Diva, or rather the thought of never being near her again made him feel strangely empty and sad. There was no rationalization for the attraction, just a natural desire for her in his blood that she had intentionally fueled… what kind of relationship was that? To be controlled like this by lust… It was insane… it was all so insane…

"You've been very quiet Riku," Diva noted, her airborne voice and mental presence inside him merging to break his train of thought.

"I've betrayed her…" he said quietly, too depressed to be surprised that she had woken up. He finally noted the faint light beyond the windows indicating the dawn of a new day.

"My big sister?" she asked in a knowing tone.

He nodded without looking at her. "I… I shouldn't have done that with you… it's crazy… this whole thing is crazy… I shouldn't have done any of this!"

She chortled in amusement and held him closer. "Then why did you?"

Silence followed before he replied in a quiet, shamed voice "Because a part of me… really wanted to… wanted to be with you…" Riku wondered why he was saying all this. Perhaps because after hours of brooding he needed to tell someone, and though she had caused his current crisis Diva was also the only person around to talk to. "I barely know you, you nearly killed me once and you want to kill my sister… and yet I somehow ignored all of that because of a feeling? What kind of person does something like that? Who am I now?"

"Who you always were of course, the cute little boy who was always looking on the bright side, always trying to make people happy and help out," Diva remarked cheerfully in his ear. She felt Riku tense up at her words, clearly he was surprised that she knew him so well given how little time they had spent together. He'd soon learn time only meant so much to a chiropteran. She had come to know Riku quite intimately from their first meeting when she had fed from him, acquiring the ability to take on not just his physical form and mannerisms, but even gaining the understanding necessary to copy his personality. Yes, she knew her new lover quite well.

Normally she didn't take the time to keep or process such knowledge when she fed, but with Riku it was different. He had been so very tasty, and the feelings she found in his mind had been so sweet. Despite everything he was such a happy boy, and Diva reveled in such pleasurable feelings whenever she could. Diva had honestly never fed from someone like him before, someone so full of hope and optimism. The way she'd surprised him even meant she didn't have to deal with the feelings of fear and pain that she usually experienced when feeding from someone unwilling. Such feelings didn't interest her and so she normally blocked them and any other aspects of her victims out, focusing only on the ecstasy of consuming their blood. The lack of those negative feelings was the very thing that prompted her to drain Riku so intimately.

However, knowing and understanding are two different things. Diva knew these sweet, kind aspects of Riku and could speak at length on his personality and how much she liked it. And yet at the same time most of that very personality was an enigma to her. She enjoyed the way it made her feel, but her malnourished mind lacked the knowledge to appreciate what it all meant or apply it in other ways. Riku was kind and full of sympathy for others and Diva loved it, yet she still couldn't comprehend just what precisely those things were or why anyone would want to be like that.

Yet she wanted to keep feeling it, feeling the kindness that seemed to waft from this boy like a sweet aroma. "As for when I ate you up, what can I say?" she giggled, "back then you just looked too tasty to resist. You were a _very _good meal. Regardless, let's not let a little thing like that mess up what we have now. After all, you're even tastier to me like this," she remarked, playfully tracing a finger down his chest as he blushed and shook a bit. It was then that the look in her eyes grew softer, more sentimental than playful. She leaned forward.

"Riku," she spoke into his ear, "thank you again. You see, this is the first time I've slept like this. With you here, in my arms, it feels so nice, like I'm not so alone anymore…"

"…Alone?" he queried, surprised at the sudden emotion in her voice.

"Yes…" she said as she seemed to reminisce. "I've always been alone. I have men who will lay their lives down if I will it, and I can have any material thing I want, and yet… at night when I lie here I'm still cold, still alone. Like in that awful tower… back when I had no name and the sun was nothing to me but shafts of light in the windows. But last night was different. Last night I held my own little chevalier lover and stayed warm all night long. You filled me with your essence and the darkness cleared a bit, then I woke up to see your big bright eyes. You made me feel so warm inside, in so many ways."

Riku had known the bare details of Diva's sad existence as Joel's imprisoned experiment, but hearing her speak of it from her own lips was an entirely different matter. As she spoke, an image had briefly flashed in his mind of a dark, dank room that reeked of the smell of blood and decay, and of a female figure, horribly gaunt, malnourished and utterly alone. The image had been nothing though compared with the feelings that accompanied it. Confusion, frustration, fear, envy, hunger, rage, despair, loneliness, they hit him so hard and fast that he had gasped in response as though the air had been knocked out of him. Of it all, the sense of hopelessness and despair had been the strongest and worst.

Diva was now peering at him with a renewed interest. "You saw me just now, didn't you Riku? I could feel your blood pulse with mine. You felt my pain as if it were yours? As if for a short time you were there?"

"I-" Riku's voice wavered as he struggled not to break into tears from the overwhelming, mind shattering despair Diva's mind had engulfed him with for the barest of moments. "I don't know. It- I don't understand, you're in my head and I-"

"Shhh," she whispered with a finger to her lips. "I told you that you would be mine and I meant it. I wanted this you see, someone who would comfort me and always be near me, someone who would finally understand. I thought I'd have to kill you to make it happen, but it seems we made it work anyway."

She smiled at his dumbfounded expression. "You may have my sister's blood, but we're part of each other now. In a way, you're alive inside me Riku. We have a link that bonds us, a link I've never had before. I want to explore this, I want to experience everything you can make me feel. With this bond, I think you'll be able to understand me Riku, I think you could learn to really know me. No one has ever really seen me for myself, not Saya or Joel, or Amshel."

He was surprised at that statement, but then thought of something. "But, what about your chevaliers?"

"I made them a part of me, but nothing that was theirs has ever been able to stay inside me." She of course referred to their DNA. "My chevalier and I share a bond but it is not like this one. Because of your age you could always hear my voice Riku, and now that link is so much stronger because your essence went inside me and mixed with my own."

"Besides, they can't treat me the way you can. I can't hold them the way I hold you." Her point was that her chevalier were all taller than her and rather than make her feel safer, she felt uncomfortable to be grasped by them for any length of time, especially in bed. If she felt in control, that is if she had made them do it, as she did when she often leapt off high places to make James catch her, it was different. But that was all fun and games, it didn't give her any sense of security or warm her at night.

"You see Riku," she took his nervous hand and guided his palm to feel her belly, "your blood resonates inside me now. When you are near I can actually feel the part of you that's inside me. You resonate in me like no one else. Even now they are there, the babies we've made, I am sure of it and I feel it so much more with you close. And a bit of you will stay inside me forever, even after my babies are born."

Riku was shocked, she could feel the babies already? They had a bond? Just what did it all mean and could she really be telling the truth about all this? She seemed so genuine, so sincere, he couldn't believe it was a trick of some kind. He could literally feel her sincerity. Just who was Diva? How could she be such a monster at one moment then so vulnerable the next? Indeed, as she spoke Riku couldn't help but notice how bits of her detached, aloof attitude seemed to erode away. There was a new energy in her tone, one that sounded so sweet and happy, truly happy.

She blushed at him, smiling brightly. "It's so different from the connection I feel with my chevaliers, better too. All my chevaliers care about is doing things for me, it's always the same. But you Riku, you won't do something just because I tell you to, I have to _convince_ you, and that makes it all so much fun."

She crawled on top of him and brought her face close, staring into his eyes. "So stay with me Riku, keep being who you are but be it for _me._ Because that is all that is really different now that you are mine. You are no longer human Riku, their rules don't matter because you are beyond them all now. You don't have to please them anymore, you need only please me. Do that, make me happy… and I'll give you things I give no one else."

"And Riku," she adding, cupping his face with her hands and drawing her face close, her eyes wanting, her voice alluring, "So far you have made me _very _happy."

She began kissing him again with a good deal of passion and had soon managed to reacquaint herself with his arousal. With Diva continuing to steadily buck and grind against him, Riku soon was brought back under her power and lost himself in the pleasurable haze of taste and touch. Again he ceased to care for a time just how wrong or right this was.

--

It was daybreak, and though Saya cursed herself for falling asleep, she was glad for the bit of rest. Albeit, it would have been better without the nightmares. She had dreamt a strange vision that had combined Diva's actions, Riku's abduction and her own rampage in Vietnam into a single horrifying sequence of events. Then it had ended with her facing down herself, or rather her feral chiropteran side, and losing.

She sighed and leaned against the door. Her mind was as troubled as ever, and she was glad Haji had handled all the packing for her, as well as explaining what was going on. Even so, the weight of it all felt unbearable.

_Dad… how am I supposed to face this? What would you want me to do? I wish… I wish you were here to tell me…_ She choked back her tears. She had already made her choice, pitying herself now wouldn't help anyone. She opened the door, to find all her companions save Kai in the main room awaiting her.

She sighed again. _I guess it was too much to hope to get away without saying goodbye._

David was the first to step forward, and extended his hand to give Saya a satellite phone. "I know that you are set in your choice Saya. I can't say if I agree with it or not, but I am glad that you wish to keep in communication with us. I understand you may not want to be contacted at times and so feel free to shut the phone off, but on our end the line will always be open to either Lewis or myself. I know that I and Red Shield failed you Saya, but I can only swear to you that we will continue to do all that we can to assist you."

Saya took the phone and closed her eyes, shaking her head as she put the device in a bag. She offered him a slight smile. "David, I don't blame you or the Red Shield for this. I just wish you hadn't had to lose so much for nothing."

Lewis was next, and to her surprise enveloped her in a big hug. "You take care of yourself girl," he remarked as he put her back on the ground and smiled. "Just make sure you come back to us."

Saya nodded, "I will."

She turned to the Schiff and was a bit embarrassed as they all proceeded to bow down to her. Still kneeling, Moses raised his head. "We will begin our own search for Diva, her chevaliers and Riku, in conjunction with Red Shield. With all of us searching, we are bound to find them eventually."

"We may not be true chevalier," Karman added. "We're sterile and we can't transform, we didn't choose to be made this way. However, you have given us the chance to make something of our lives and rise beyond the test subjects we were supposed to be limited to. To help you achieve your goals is the least we can do in thanks."

"You can count on us!" Lulu chimed in a peppy tone.

Saya nodded, touched by their loyalty and gratitude. "Thank you." She then noticed Irene stand and step toward her, the gentlest of the Schiff looking less than confident. She knelt down again as Saya looked on perplexed. "Uh, yes Irene?"

"Saya, please, I would like to make a request. You know that I want to serve you as much as the others do, I want to save Riku and help stop Diva. However I… if you will allow it I would like to stay with Kai. I can help him with the changes he'll undergo, and then we can look for Riku together."

Darth looked skeptical. "Are you sure that's wise Irene? We could really use your senses out there."

Karman was more direct. "Irene, do you have any idea how long it could take for him to deal with all this and develop his powers? Time that you could put yourself to better use searching. Are you really going to let your feelings for the guy keep you from your priorities. Finding Diva is the most important thing right now!"

"I know it is!" Irene cried back, quite upset. "It's just… we can't just leave Kai to go through this alone. If he has another chiropteran with him, maybe it would be easie-"

"And I say it's selfish!"

"Everyone calm down!" Saya interrupted in a commanding tone, then looked to Irene with a soft smile once everyone was silent. "Actually Irene, I was already planning to ask you to look after Kai for me, though I have no right to. This makes me feel a bit better about putting that burden on you."

Irene turned to her with a gasp. "It's not a burden Saya! Kai did so much for me, for all of us! I want to help him."

Saya laughed a bit despite her mood. She could see why Kai had taken such a shine to Irene, she was such a sweetheart, really a great match for his bullheaded bravado. "I know… just realize Kai is a lot better at giving help than taking it."

She then looked at her more seriously. "Also, when he wakes up I want you to give him this message from me. After he finds out what's going on, tell him I'm sorry for leaving like this but that I believe its for the best. More importantly, tell him that I'm sure Riku is still alive, that Diva wants to keep him with her for a while." She may not have been as truly certain of these things as she sounded, but if it helped Kai deal with this even a little bit then it was worthwhile. It also was the only thing she believed she had to give her hope in the months ahead.

She turned and addressed all the Schiff. "Are you sure you have enough of my blood stored?"

Moses nodded. "Just a small bit of your blood mixed into normal blood is all we need. We have enough to keep us for healthy for over a year."

"Good," she stated. An awkward silence followed, as Saya found herself at a loss for words. Bowing slightly, she turned and headed for the exit. _I can't say goodbye…_

She was suddenly stopped as something small practically tackled her from the back. She could hear a slight sniffling.

"I'll miss you Saya!" Lulu cried into her back.

"Lulu…" Moses began to admonish. "You remember what Haji said, this is hard enough for Saya without you clinging to her."

"No, it's okay," Saya replied, her eyes watery, her voice breaking. She turned and embraced the little chiropteran. "I'll miss you too. Thank you." They look at each other as they dried their eyes, Lulu giving her an encouraging smile that Saya found impossible not to return. She took a last look at the others in the room and turned to leave.

Haji followed after her in silence. Pausing to look back at the group he gave them all a heartfelt bow before stepping out the door.

"Just what sort of training do you think they'll do out there?" Lewis queried.

"I don't know," David replied. "The important thing for us to focus on right now is what we can do." He was met various nods of agreement. "It's a new chapter for all of us."

--

Later in the day, as he lay in the bed utterly exhausted from multiple couplings with the vampire queen, Riku could do little but ponder what would happen next. Diva seemed intent on keeping him around and even now he could feel her presence in the back of his mind, somehow alerting him to the fact that if he tried to escape she would sense it and track him down as easily as she had on the ship. Not that he even had the energy to try such an escape.

He wondered how long he might have to wait here. When she had finally sated her desires Diva had gotten up and got dressed before kissing him a final time and remarking she would be out for a while to visit her chevalier and probably get a lecture from Amshel and that he should stay in her room and rest. She also said she would bring him some blood to help get his strength back. He had to admit he felt thirsty for it, but had pled with her all the same for it to not be blood from a human victim of her or her chevalier's. Thankfully Diva seemed to be in a generous mood and didn't take his request as an opportunity to force him to drink the blood of such a person, albeit she did seem a bit confused by how bothered Riku was by the idea.

Indeed she had remarked, with a fair bit of disappointment in her voice, like a pouting child, that to keep people from becoming suspicious and to keep from attracting Saya's attention, her chevalier discouraged her from eating whoever she wanted whenever she wanted. In fact they themselves rarely fed directly on humans, especially in urban areas where disappearances would get more attention. Instead they lived largely off the substantial amount of blood their resources acquired from blood banks and other outlets. Diva regarded such blood as "stale" and lacking in the primal rush of feeding from a living person, but accepted it as better than nothing. Getting to feed from a person other than her own chevalier was more of a special treat type of thing, or something done on the spur of the moment if the opportunity struck.

Riku tried to ignore the darker elements of her words, only thanking her for agreeing. He'd felt oddly warm inside when she'd proceeded to say it was worth seeing him give her a smile. Then she'd left and here he was with nothing but his own thoughts and the sights around him for company.

He blushed in embarrassment as he looked at the portion of the bed beside him where he and Diva had done most of… what they had done. It was fairly evident from the dried areas of sweat and various small blood stains, the latter left from where she had scratched up his back while in the throws of coitus. The sheets had even been ripped a bit at some point. He wondered if Diva intended to be so rough or if she just didn't know her own strength. Then he wondered yet again just how this could have happened, how he could possibly be involved in something as depraved as this?

It all came back to figuring out his feelings for Diva. Those strange, mixed feelings, some so passionate and hot that he could barely grasp them. But what was real? Was this all the cause of some massive, drug-like doses of hormones? Had his chiropteran blood possessed his mind like some kind of alien parasite from science fiction, and if so just what was he to do about it? With Diva no longer there his mind felt clearer and he had been able to work out his emotions more. This had translated to a greater sadness and anger on his part, as well as shame as he wondered what his father would think of him for enjoying any of this, let alone his siblings.

For that matter Kai, Saya and their fates also occupied his mind. He could only imagine how worried they were and he wished he could be there for Kai. It pained him to think how his being kidnapped could make their mission harder. Even away from them it seemed he was a hindrance… but dwelling on that would get him no where.

However, while his lust-crazed hormones had finally gotten under control and he overall felt he was thinking about as rationally as usual, one thing was different. He still felt a deep sense of sympathy from that moment he had seen into Diva's mind. Did that mean it was a real feeling? If it was real, if he truly was starting to feel for her on a deeper level, everything was going to become a lot more complicated than it was already. For now though, he didn't know what to think of it.

Riku stared up at the ceiling. As prisons went, at least it was comfortable. Still, he could only guess at just what the future held in store for him, when he would be able to leave this place, or if indeed he would ever leave.

He let out a long sigh, finally allowing tears he was holding back to slide down his face. I need to be strong, I need to survive… for Kai and Saya if nothing else. I just… can't let this get to me. I'll be okay… at least… I hope I will…

--

Irene had taken her vigil quite seriously, and as she didn't need to sleep it meant she had barely left Kai's since Saya left. It had been a few days and there was no telling when he would wake up, but she wanted to be sure to be there when he did. Sipping with a straw she had poked into a small packet of blood, she leaned back on a chair she had placed next to his bed and sighed. She was weighed down by worry, over Riku, over Saya, over Kai most of all. She had come to like them all so much in such a short period of time.

Still, none of them would have liked to see her just sitting around depressed, so she decided to take the opportunity to engage in a new pastime of hers. It was hardly a typical hobby, lacking as she was in most skills and knowledge that didn't have to do with fighting.. First she glanced at the door, using her senses to make sure no one was coming in. If she was caught doing this she would imagine at least one of the Schiff would make fun of her.

Having confirmed the immediate vicinity was clear, she put the blood pack aside and sat on the bed. Leaning over Kai she brought her hand to his face a traced a finger along it, marveling at the feeling of another living thing's skin. She then moved to his hair and started to slowly run her fingers through it.

For that was her new hobby. Touching people, or rather, touching Kai. It may have seemed silly, but it was an experience that was quite new to Irene. She had had no childhood and none of the Schiff knew much about interacting with others physically. It was a perplexing enigma that she was frankly very curious about.

From what she had observed physical interaction seemed to have many beneficial effects on relationships. She had actually seen Moses give a genuine smile after sharing a handshake with that nice man Lewis over some issue the two had worked out for their search plans. Then there was Lulu, who had seemed to become addicted to hugs, something that Irene had reciprocated when given but never initiated. Indeed, her lack of confidence was one reason she was practicing touching on an unconscious person.

What was it that Julia had said in one of their few talks before she had disappeared? Oh yes, it was something about that humans needed some degree of physical contact with others as it benefited their mental health. They were social creatures after all. Perhaps this was true for chiropterans as well, even experimental clones like herself.

Practice was clearly needed though, she noted. She giggled softly at the memory of how Karman had freaked out when Lulu had first hugged him, though he now took them with patient resignation. "Ahh…" she sighed, "I wonder what it would feel like Kai… for you to touch me like this." She started as she felt her face heat up at that thought and gave a nervous laugh. "I'm being silly… thinking about things like this."

"Thinking about what?"

Irene gasped and on reflex drew her hand back like it had burned. She then looked down to see Kai giving her a rather perplexed look as he regained consciousness. He was a bit groggy but otherwise seemed perfectly normal. A bright smile soon came to her face.

"Kai! You're awake!" she cried out in relief and happiness, but then paused, not really knowing what to do to show it. Throwing caution to the wind she gripped him in a gentle hug as she'd seen done on some of Lulu's television shows and by Lulu herself in a more frenetic manner.

Kai was glad they had no audience as he was pretty sure his face had gone a bit red. "Hey Irene…" he greeted uneasily and tried to return the hug, his intention of course being nothing more than to comfort her and then put her at a less intimate distance, or so he told himself. He smiled a bit, Riku would so make fun of him if he saw them like this…

_Riku!_

At that moment his pleasant awakening came to an end as memories of what he had hoped was just a nightmare came to the forefront of his mind. He pushed Irene back and grabbed her shoulders roughly, his expression desperate. "Irene! Tell me what's happened! Where's Riku? What happened to Diva? Please, tell me Saya stopped her!"

Though shocked at the uncharacteristically rough treatment (not that her body couldn't handle much worse with ease, Kai had just always been very gentle with her), Irene felt only sympathy for his turmoil as she was confronted with how to tell Kai what had happened. She had gone over it again and again in her head to no avail. She had concluded she simply didn't know enough about emotions yet to find a way to tell him correctly, until Lewis had told her there was no truly good way to give someone news like this. "Kai… I…"

Her eyes moistened and her voice shook, and Kai's expression in turn grew more and more horrified. "Irene… tell me. Where's Riku and Saya? Where are they?!"

"They are not here," came Moses' calm voice from the door. Clearly he had agreed with Lewis about simply telling him, but Irene had the distinct impression that to be so blunt was not Lewis' intention.

David stepped in front of Moses and gave him a pleading but stern look. "Moses, I think I should be the one to tell him." Irene could now see that Lewis and her Schiff kin had all gathered near the doorway, attracted by Kai's outburst.

Moses nodded slightly and stepped aside to let David enter, "yes, I suppose that would be best. You have been his comrade longer than we have." He was developing a lot of respect for this human and the similar burden of leadership he carried.

David was not a man easily swayed by anything. He had already seen more death and destruction than he would ever be able to recall and was now faced with somehow keeping Red Shield from collapsing. There was also the matter of the many brave men who had lost their lives to Diva and Karl's actions. They were heavy blows even for him. Now the look of fear and despair in Kai's eyes was almost breaking him. If Riku had died, if Saya had cut all ties with Red Shield… he didn't know what he would have done to himself. As things stood he still considered himself responsible.

"There is no easy way to say this Kai," he stated in a tone slightly more compassionate than he normally used, "so I am simply going to say it. Two days ago Diva and one of her chevalier attacked Red Shield headquarters. For as yet uncertain reasons their goal was the abduction of Riku. Saya and Haji did all they could to stop them but failed. Furthermore, at some point before this Diva infected you with some of her blood. You are now a chevalier, her chevalier. What this means for your future we cannot say with certainty, but we have no intentions of abandoning you nor any reason to believe you are a threat."

Barely taking a breath he continued. "As for Saya, she has left with Haji. They will be travelling, searching for Diva and thus Riku, and training. They do not know when they will return, but will contact us regularly if possible."

He tried to give him an encouraging look. "Understand this Kai, we have no intention of giving up. The Schiff have agreed to continue aiding us in our search for Diva and though Red Shield has been weakened we will rebuild and devote our resources to making this right."

For a while Kai was silent. When he did speak, he at first seemed eerily calm, only to break out in a sobbing yell by the end. "So you're telling me that Saya's gone, that I've been turned into a monster and Riku's probably dead by now?!"

"That's not true!"

"Irene?" Kai looked at her, surprised at her outburst.

"Kai," she said in a voice full of emotion, "before she left Saya left me a message for you. She said she was sure Diva didn't plan on killing him, at least not for a while. There is still a chance for him, you can't lose hope in that. I know Saya and Riku believe in you Kai, and I believe in you too. We will all become stronger and locate Diva. Then we can find Riku and save him."

"You believe in me huh…" Kai scoffed. "Me, the useless fool who couldn't even protect his own little brother?! The monster who has that bitch's blood inside him now?!"

"You are not a monster any more than Riku is!"

"I'm Diva's chevalier! I think that qualifies as a monster!" he yelled back.

Irene's voice had become surprisingly firm and strong by now. The other's were too surprised by it to interfere and simply watched the exchange. "Do you want to serve Diva?"

"Hell no!"

"Then nothing has changed!" She took a deep breath to calm down, then smiled at him warmly. "You are still you."

Kai was still far from calm. "You don't know that! For all you know I could turn around and stab you all in the back without even knowing it! Why'd you even keep me alive?!" He was left panting from his outburst. No longer able to maintain his anger, tears began to flow from his eyes and he bent over on the bed, Irene moving forward to let him bury his face in her shoulder as she held him tight.

All became silent save for the strained sounds of Kai's sobbing and Irene's soothing coos as she held him. David sighed, his thoughts turning to Julia for some reason he couldn't fathom. "We should go."

"I want to watch!" Lulu chimed excitedly, her eyes fixed on them and utterly fascinated.

Lewis bent down to take her hand and lead her out, "come on now Lulu, let's just leave them be. It's not easy for a guy like Kai to show his feelings in front of people like this."

"Well then why is it okay for Irene to stay?"

"That's different," he replied with a smile. "To him Irene is a person he feels he can let his guard down around. You'll understand when you're older."

Lulu looked perplexed at that. "My earliest memories are of looking like this. I don't know if I ever will get older."

"Well I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"What does that mean?"

Lewis scratched his head nervously. "Hey! How about we see what channels the TV in here gets?"

"Oh? Okay!" she cried out happily and pulled him from the room.

Everyone else managed to leave more quietly, Karman actually holding his tongue, albeit only after receiving a glare from Moses. Irene and Kai were largely oblivious to these goings on, however, Kai by his sorrow and Irene by her desire to help him feel better.

"'He's a nice human,'" Irene quoted softly after a while as she broke the embrace to look him in the eye. "That is one of the first things I decided about you after we first met. You knew what I was, but you weren't afraid of me and you didn't look at me with hatred in your eyes. You listened to me, let me tell you our story and you believed me when I said I didn't want to kill humans. You're still a nice human Kai, even if you are Diva's chevalier nothing I feel from you now makes me think anything different about you."

Kai stared back, unsure just what to say or think he looked away. "Irene… I want to believe that, but I…"

She hugged him again, and though they both felt oddly pleasant and warm tingles, the comfort was the important thing. "Kai… only a short time ago you gave me hope and showed me happiness when I thought neither were possible anymore. I swear, I'll be by your side as long as you'll let me be. I'll show you how to handle being a chiropteran. I'll help you get through this, no matter what. I promised this to Saya and its what I want, because even though I still understand so little about living, I know you are very special to me."

Kai still felt cold, numb in shock from all he had awoken to. He knew the pain would be lasting, but somehow things were warmer with Irene here. Maybe, maybe he could get through this pain… and maybe Riku really was still alive. For now at least he simply wanted to hold her close and keep believing those things.

"Thank you… Irene."

**Notes:**

I'll explain now one of my main criticisms of the Blood Plus series. Namely that through most of it Saya and to a lesser extent Haji, are made out to be EXTREMELY weak compared to their enemies. This is fine if done right, but instead in Blood we get Saya surviving most of her encounters with Diva and her chevalier simply because they choose to let her live for one reason or another.

Even after the time skip when it seems like Saya is acting more like a chiropteran, she is only slightly stronger than before and in some ways weaker (due to her thirty year sleep approaching). This is when we start seeing her being saved repeatedly by Solomon. Even against Karl, the one chevalier she came closest to beating on her own, she gets saved/helped.

I have no problem with her needing help at times, it's just not fair for Saya to not be on the same level as chevalier at least potentially. Indeed, she is the only non-artificial chiropteran in the series to never exhibit super speed and it is never really explained why. That is Saya seems to be drinking more blood but she still doesn't have that speed everyone else does. Hence why I developed the theory in this story about what she needs to do to develop those abilities. On the other hand Haji is revealed to have been suppressing his powers but even this doesn't excuse what happens at the end of the series.

That is, after being completely dominated in nearly every encounter with them, Saya is suddenly able to fight Diva quite evenly, as is Haji against Amshel. The latter is somewhat more believable, but still hard to accept given how outclassed Solomon (who appeared to be about as strong as Haji) seemed when he briefly confronted Amshel and got his arm cut off. However the final duel between Saya and Diva seemed like a joke compared to their abilities as displayed in every other part of the series. Saya fights the same as always, yet Diva seems to lose all her powers.

In every other encounter Diva moved so quickly that Saya couldn't touch her unless she let her do so, and she was so strong that she could send Saya flying with a flick of one hand. Then in their final fight she exhibits speed about equal to Saya's, and no super strength at all. One can't blame her pregnancy or her blood losing its potency for this as even after her babies were cut out she was still powerful as ever. She beat Solomon to near-death with ease while not suffering a scratch herself (and the ruined land around where they fought indicates it was quite a fight).

It's as though they simply made Diva and Amshel weaker because they needed them beaten for the sake of the plot. If they had not continually shown Diva and Amshel as so superior in ability or had given Saya an upgrade this would not have been a problem, but the way they ended up doing things just seemed like an insult to the audience's intelligence. It's unfortunate given that every other aspect of those final episodes was quite well done.

Okay, rant done. On the actual story I'll make note now that though it is about Diva's redemption it won't happen quickly. She's going to remain quite dangerous and twisted, only slowing beginning to learn about other ways of living through Riku's influence. That's why despite the title we haven't seen Diva do much to garner "sympathy" yet.

That bit of Riku's link with her intensifying is one of the main things that will be used to help Diva and Riku understand each other. It is based on how Diva came to know Riku so well i.e. matching his mannerisms (due to feeding on him in their first encounter) and being able to sense things related to him (due to being pregnant with his kids, as when she remarked that "Riku's blood" had sensed Kai's presence). If she could that kind of stuff and speak into his mind (as she did on the ship) it's not out of the question for images and feelings from her thoughts to be able to reach into his mind as well if they spent more time close to each other.

For anyone wondering, Okamura and Mao will be in this story, just not yet. I just didn't see how to incorporate them in a good way here. Consider them to be wandering around on their own at this point as usual for them.

Also, the thing about Diva and her chevalier not killing that many humans for food (at least in cities) wasn't put there for the sake of making them seem more benevolent. Rather it simply makes sense for practical purposes and helped give a source of blood that Riku could stomach using.

And no, I am not bashing Karman. The fact of the matter is it would be out of character for him at this point in the series to not be almost constantly saying something spiteful or negative. It's one reason we love the guy right?

This chapter ended up longer than I thought it'd be. Future chapters probably won't be as long. I can't say when I'll finish the next one, it will likely take a few weeks at least, but feel free to ask for it if you get impatient as it might motivate me more to find my muse.


	3. Chapter 3: Memory Lane

Sympathy for the Diva Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue

--

Part 3: Memory Lane

--

For some people what we perceive as time seems to crawl forward, for others it slips by far too quickly. This is largely a matter of perspective of course, as the same amount of time passes for everyone. It could be said that in general the younger you are the slower time seems to pass because your experience with time is limited by your age. For a two year old a year is half of their existence and can't even be comprehended, while for a twenty year old it is merely one-twentieth of their life and a good deal easier to conceptualize.

For Riku it had been neither. This was why he lay in bed, staring in shock at the calendar he had found and laid before him. He had checked it out of curiosity and now found the result a lot to take in.

"A year…" he sighed. It really had been a whole year now since Diva had kidnapped him from his siblings and brought him into a life that he at times still had trouble believing was real.

It was not that time had passed by unnoticed. He knew he had been with Diva for a long while, but to have it quantified like this was new. Diva lived her life moment by moment and rarely referred to the passage of time nor did she celebrate holidays, while for Riku time had also lost a good deal of meaning. Most of his daily life revolved around Diva and just as he could lie in bed with her, never fall asleep and yet never be bored, so most days seemed to blur together into a long series of interactions with Diva. One might say he was fully aware of the passage of time, but had simply ceased to care enough to pay much attention to it. Perhaps it was part of being a chevalier, a way to ease the decades spent apart from one's queen.

Or perhaps it was simply the new life span he had gained. Humans who live a long time feel time pass faster and feel as though it is slipping away from them as they march inexorably to the decades where their death will likely occur. Riku felt no such anticipation. Now some part of him seemed to understand that he had the potential to live for more time than he might imagine and that there was no great hurry for him to do anything.

Nonetheless, he knew that a lot had changed. He had been moved multiple times over the course of the year, and now was somewhere around London. Diva's practices for her upcoming concert were becoming more frequent and thus he spent more and more time alone in her room with his thoughts. He had put the time to productive use, making use of Diva's chevalier Nathan's vast stores of books to keep up his studies to some degree. Nathan had lived a long time and had stowed great amounts of information and rare artifacts in his many homes around the world.

Riku in fact had come to know each of Diva's chevalier by name and though he was certainly a strange man he still regarded Nathan as one of the two who he felt fairly safe with, the other being the mild-mannered Solomon. Indeed, the two could be downright friendly with him, whereas Karl, James and Amshel (who he rarely saw) spoke to him only when they had to and ignored him whenever they could.

He knew they disliked him, or perhaps hated would be a more accurate word, and that he was only still alive due to Diva. And although he usually was not in fear of his life, it was still a unsettling thing to consider, especially when Diva even now sometimes joked about killing him if he made her unhappy.

It was still better than thinking about Saya and Kai though. Inevitably he'd bring himself to tears over how much he missed them. Indeed, the sobering revelation that a year had passed was enough to make him think about how he had managed to live here for so long without breaking physically or mentally. There was no doubt it had much to do with something that started shortly after he began to room with Diva.

_-- flashback: approximately 1 year ago_

It had been only a few days since Diva had 'claimed' him as her own and he'd already been moved once to a new area. Just where he didn't know, he'd been blindfolded for the trip and it was not undone until he had arrived in what served at this particular location as Diva's room. The same room he now lay in.

By now Riku's feelings for Diva had grown ever more confused. He despaired over the injustice of what had happened to him. He knew Diva was selfish and manipulative, a monstrous murderer who had violated him several times now. At times such as when he was locked up alone, as he was afraid to even think such things in front of her, he was almost sure he hated her.

And yet in addition to the incredible lust he felt for her body he had also come to enjoy the affection he felt from her when she hugged him or smiled at him. It seemed genuine, if twisted, on her part, to some degree at least. Moreover, his experience of seeing or feeling into Diva's mind that first morning had spawned a deep curiosity on his part. He wanted to understand just who Diva was, if only to help him see how he could feel anything but hatred for her.

That very night he would get an answer.

_-- flashback: the 1830s_

Pain.

Hunger.

Thirst.

Loneliness.

Despair.

Fear.

Those were the basic elements of her earliest memories, memories of feelings before words came to have meaning.

And _him._ The face of the man she came to know as Joel Goldschmidt.

Her world was a small and dark one, the windows only allowing small shafts of light through, their openings good for little more than gaining glances of the outside world. Not that she spent much time gazing out them, she was usually too tired for it.

For she was constantly hungry, her body weak and emaciated, often fed little more than the amount needed to keep her conscious. That she lived and grew on such a meager diet only proved her extreme durability. Yet durability could not take away the constant ache of hunger in her stomach, or the thirst that dried her tongue. Such pain was magnified in the form of the many tests and experiments she was subjected to.

Joel was obsessed with learning all he could about her body and its capabilities. Time and again he would have her restrained with ropes or chains before inflicting her with horrific injuries, then seeing how long it took for her to recover and what difference there was between her recovery time with a recent blood feed compared to without.

Thus he would cut into her flesh with knives, poison her and burn her. At times he would nearly bleed her dry and study how she could return from the coma-like state with simply a little blood. He would sever her fingers and toes, even entire limbs to see at what point they stopped growing back and instead needed the lost appendage placed at the wound to reattach.

This was her life, if it could even be called a life. An existence of unending pain and loneliness, of suffering that few could even imagine much less understand. And yet she herself at the time did not particularly understand how terrible her life was. It was after all the only life she had ever known.

For suffering is, like many things, partly dependant on perspective. Because she had known of nothing in her life except her tower prison, the outside world, freedom, was not something she particularly desired at first. In fact it frightened her. Joel had encouraged this, in what was one of their few conversations. She had been quite young at the time, but the memories of it were still clear even if she didn't remember just where she had first heard the word "outside" from.

"Out- side?" her small voice had questioned.

Often Joel ignored her questions, but this time his curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to know more about what the girl had been able to learn from simple observation, about just how much she understood of her own speech and how much was simply imitation. He turned to look at her, pleased at the submissive look she gave him. She knew well enough not to speak when he spoke. "Yes," he replied in a neutral tone. "Was there something you wished to say?"

Her voice was unsteady, unsure, due to lack of experience, fear, and nervousness. Out of fear and awe she could not look him in the eye, but she somehow found the courage to keep speaking. "W-hat. Is… Out. Side?"

Joel raised an eyebrow, a bit amused at the question and what it said of the girl's limited knowledge and comprehension skills. "Outside," he began "is the world beyond your windows, the world where I live."

This success spurred her confidence and she spoke more forcefully, with an almost hopeful tone. "I… I go. Outside?"

Joel's face darkened and she drew back, frightened. What had she said to anger him?

"No." He replied in a cold and commanding tone. "This is your world, you must never leave it. It is important that you understand this child, because you could never survive in the outside world. You have no family to provide for you and outside this room there is no one who will feed you or house you. So put the idea out of your head. Indeed, so that you may understand a bit more just what would happen if you left here, I believe I shall inform Amshel that he need not bother with your next scheduled feeding."

She wanted to plead some kind of apology, to beg for him not to do this. She was fed so little to begin with, to have even less was a thought too dreadful for her. And yet she found her voice paralyzed under Joel's disapproving gaze as he turned and walked away, ignoring her outstretched hand, her silent plea.

Again she was left with nothing but her own tears as she sobbed on the stone floor to the point of utter exhaustion. And yet it was not these things that made her hate Joel. Indeed, one might say that at this time she loved him.

For a long time she had understood the world in very childish terms, even compared to how she currently thought. That is, Joel was not her torturer or keeper, but her provider, her source for what little pleasure she felt in life. His arrival usually meant pain but it also meant human contact, the chance to hear a voice other than her own, perhaps even to in the process learn a new word or two. More importantly it meant that other man, Amshel, might be there, and that in turn she might be fed something.

Joel was the source, he was the one in control, the one who mattered. He was stronger than her, smarter than her, he held all power over her. If she had any concept of a god, he fitted it. And how could one despise an almighty god? Even if that god saw fit to leave her as little but skin and bones, what choice did she have but to obey? Or so she had thought.

The years passed and in spite of Joel's efforts to keep her isolated for the integrity of the experiment she continued to learn about the outside world bit by bit. She was an attentive girl, far more intelligent than her simple speech and childish mannerisms suggested. She also had an eye for beauty, though her surroundings left little to look at.

On the bright side there were the blue rose plants which grew around the outside of her cell. On occasion they would grow enough to even enter into her dark room through the small windows. She loved these plants and could spend hours simply admiring one of the blue plumes in her hand. When she was particularly bored and had the energy for it she would even cut herself on the thorns, using her blood to scrawl crude drawings on the floor or walls, or simply watching herself heal, tiny cuts often sealing themselves in seconds.

Her ears were keen as well and absorbed all they could of any conversation from anyone who came near the tower. Much of it was gibberish to her for some time, but after years of listening, she had learned the meanings, or probable meanings, of many more words.

Occasionally she would also overhear conversations between Joel and Amshel that she would only later comprehend the importance of.

"I understand the need to keep her isolated," Amshel had once asked Joel just outside her door, "but why is it that you keep the girl so malnourished?"

"I do not believe in taking unnecessary risks," Joel had replied plainly. "She is being raised as an animal, without any of the controls placed on her sister in her human upbringing. This makes her potentially very dangerous. Keeping her weak is thus a logical measure. It also tests her durability. I want to learn just what her kind is capable of under such constant duress."

Of course, matters of logic and durability meant nothing to her. She just wished to know what a full stomach felt like.

When not listening in on the outside world or recovering from Joel's latest experiments with her body she would sleep and dream of a world where Joel spoke to her with many kind words. The years continued to pass like this, the development of her lonely song as it emerged from the depths of her instincts being the only major event. She didn't know who she was calling for in the song or why, only that somehow she needed to call out.

Then one day it all changed. The day she first saw _her._

It was hard, but her keen eyes could see just enough through the shafts of light to view the girl's face far below as she wandered about near the tower, and what she saw shocked her so much that she almost cried out. She stumbled back and searched until she found a broken shard of glass on the floor, left over from some testing equipment she had broken while writhing under one of Joel's more painful experiments. She then held it up to meet what light it could. Her reflection showed the truth. She was much cleaner than herself, had darker skin and her eyes were different, but there was no doubt, the girl outside had the same face she did!

She gripped the shard so tightly her hand bled. It made no sense. To comfort herself she began to sing as she had before she had spotted her, while the girl outside called up to her. But even as she replied vacantly and began to learn about who this girl was, her mind was focused elsewhere. Why? Why was this copy of her allowed to run around outside in the sun? Why did she look so well fed? Why did she smile so much? Why had Joel not locked the girl away in the dark? Why was she locked up in the dark?

It was a novel question, and one that her fragile mind could not answer. The contrast between her existence and this other girl's became ever starker in her mind as she began to ponder things she had rarely pondered before.

What would it feel like to walk on that soft-looking green stuff that covered the ground? How warm was the sun without a roof over your head? Where did this other girl sleep? Where did she get such pretty clothes? Who was it that provided for her? Was it Joel, was he her family?

Days of such pondering passed. Then came darker thoughts. What did it feel like to take blood from the source? How would Joel react if he were the one trapped in this tower? Could she punish him? Somehow it didn't seem so impossible anymore.

She began to want to leave her world, her prison. One by one she worked through the various problems Joel claimed she would have. If no one provided her with clothes or a place to live, perhaps she could live with that girl that looked like her. The girl had so much, surely she could share some? And if the girl did not share, well perhaps she could simply _take _what she wanted. After all, why should that girl get everything?

Then there was food, blood specifically. How was she to get it? Where was blood kept? She had known for a long time that she herself was full of blood. Joel had taken many samples of it over the years. It stood to reason that other people, Joel as well, were full of blood too. She also knew that if she focused her hunger enough then her fangs could lengthen and become sharper, sharp enough to easily pierce her own skin. She had thus experimented with drinking her own blood from her wrists and wondered if she could do the same to another person.

And so she began to learn about this other girl. It turned out it was the song that had caused their meeting. Her song had made the copy curious and the two had proceeded to learn a bit about each other. The girl's name was Saya and it seemed she found it strange that she had no name of her own. Then in a strange and wondrous event, the girl decided to give her a name.

Diva.

It was such a magical word, even more so when Saya told her more deeply about its meaning. It signified such elegance and dignity, a skilled and beautiful vocalist, a singer who deserved to be renowned.

So why… why was she locked in this tower? To her Joel seemed less and less of a benefactor and more and more of a jailer. One fact became seemingly clear as her warped mind twisted further. Joel was a bad person. He was the one keeping her from living up to her name. For that he needed to be punished… no… he needed to die. Just like the fleas she would squish between her nails whenever she found them on her skin. She hated him, he needed to die, everyone who had idly lived so near her in ignorance needed to die. Even Saya… Yes, perhaps Saya most of all, for Diva had begun to suspect they shared more than just looks. Whatever linked the two of them was strong, they were so similar to each other and yet their lives were so different. Diva could only conclude that Saya's mere existence had somehow caused her to be given this life.

Her dreams that had so long been filled with nightmarish visions of her pain and suffering under Joel now began to include other things. Blood and violence continued to fill them but she was no longer the only recipient. No, now it was Joel who was pierced and burned and it was the outside world that was awash in blood. Yet the nightmares of her own suffering remained and even seemed to intensify as she contrasted her life with Saya's. She would awaken screaming from the night terrors, she would enter rages where she bashed her hands against the walls until they were bloody and broken and she would hold herself hour after hour on the cold, lonely nights, losing herself ever more to the rage and madness.

As her heart closed-up she ceased to cry, as if her tears had all been shed and she had been left empty. What was the point of crying when no one was there to see it or comfort her? What was the point of grief or regret? No one understood. No one cared. No one ever did, and no one ever would. It was with such thoughts that any concept of empathy that she had once possessed shriveled up within her and came to its end.

_-- end: 1830s flashback_

Riku regained his awareness with a pained gasp of fear, his eyes moist from the intensity of the emotions he had experienced even as his mind tried to understand what had just occurred.

_What happened? Was I asleep? No… that's impossible… but I was lying down, thinking about who Diva was, when I started to see… _He looked to Diva, who even now twitched and murmured restlessly in her sleep, her expression pained.

Her memories. He had somehow tapped into her memories as she relived her childhood in her nightmares. The key apparently was to focus extra hard on thoughts of her while she was at the same time experiencing powerful emotions and thoughts. He tried to reach out his mind to her and again was assaulted by the horrific visions and feelings. He drew back, trembling.

The memories had not truly come in chronological order he realized. Rather his mind had organized them into the most probable chain of events as it experienced them. Indeed, some of them might have only been remnant nightmares rather than real memories. Regardless, he had wanted to know more about who Diva was and had gotten his wish. Yet now he felt sick inside as the images and feelings replayed mercilessly in his head, all the while Riku knowing it must be worse for her as she had actually physically gone through those horrors. It was a wonder to him that Diva could even function.

The memories of Joel were perhaps the most disturbing. He had imagined Joel to be a maniacal, raving villain of some kind, like the evil geniuses on so many shows he had seen on TV. Instead he appeared as a calm, composed, perfectly decent human being who wouldn't hurt anyone. And he didn't seem to take any pleasure in causing Diva pain, rather he just didn't care. He never laughed or smiled when he performed his horrific experiments. Indeed, he rarely spoke at all, and even more rarely to her. He simply saw her as an object, an object through which he could answer some of the many questions he pondered about the world.

In relation to this Diva had apparently learned to speak on her own, her learning based almost entirely on what few words she heard from Joel, as well as the more frequent conversations between him and Amshel. This perhaps helped explain how childish and unrefined Diva's speech patterns often were. She had learned to speak under less than favorable conditions and it had effected her for life.

He was sure of it now, of what he had felt for her aside from anger and lust. It was pity, and more than that, empathy. Being adopted, then losing his adoptive father, he knew what it was to lose important things, and here was a girl who had never even had anything to lose. He could not hate her, not when he had seen what had shaped her into this and how little she understood that living any other way was even possible.

She was like a beautiful glass sculpture that had been beaten and battered for years until it at last shattered and the shards rained down upon the people below. The glass pieces that represented her had killed her tormentor and in succession had killed or injured many others who were not guilty of harming her, and yet Diva was just as much a victim as they were. She was alive, yet she was not truly living. She was a shattered soul, empty and cold, living only to experience physical pleasure, to indulge her lusts, and searching endlessly for anything that might give her life more meaning, something that could fill the void in her heart.

And now she writhed beside him, sweat pouring off of her, groaning in fear and anger. He stared at the sight, shaking as he found his resolve. He couldn't just watch this happen, not when he knew what she was experiencing. He had to help her somehow.

"Diva?" he asked while prodding her shoulder gently. "Come on Diva, wake up, you're having a nightmare."

She didn't awaken, indeed the nightmare seemed to get worse, and Riku could only try harder. Soon he had leaned over her, shaking her shoulders vigorously and imploring her to wake up, tears welling in his eyes as the psychic reverberations of her inner turmoil continued to feed into him.

He yelled her name a final time and at last, while loosing something between a scream and a roar, she snapped her blazing blue eyes open. At the same time her arms shot out defensively, one grasping Riku by the neck, the other by the throat, both proceeding to squeeze hard enough that he would have cried out in pain had his throat not been constricted.

He gritted his teeth and strained to breathe. It felt like she had crushed his shoulder and collapsed his throat. He did the only thing he could and pled with his eyes for her to loosen her grip and give him a chance to heal. They stared at each other for several seconds, Riku's tears landing on her sweaty face as she panted, her heart racing in fear. At last she seemed to realize where she was and what was happening and let go, Riku collapsing on top of her and gagging as his body restored itself. Diva made no reaction, continuing to stare blankly into space, lapsing back into apparent shock, their heavy breathing the only sounds in the room.

Slowly, Riku managed to pick himself up enough to look in her eyes again. Diva seemed confused enough by his expression to snap out of her blank stare. "Riku?" she inquired, raising herself up to a sitting position as he sat back to wipe his eyes.

His fear of her once more overcome by his feelings of sympathy, he proceeded to wrap his arms around in her in a desperate embrace, sobbing into her shoulder. Diva's whole body stiffened at the contact, so different from the passionate way it was done during lovemaking. This was driven by something other than physical desire or attraction. She simply didn't know how to react. No one had ever hugged her like this.

"I'm so sorry!" he cried, "I… I wish… I wish none of those things had happened to you!"

At least now she understood part of his motivation. "So… I was right," she said in a plain tone, "you are seeing my mind, my dreams. I also wish those things hadn't happened…"

Noting a change in the tone of her last words, Riku withdrew to look at her. For a moment a mask seemed to fall from her face and he again saw the starved, terror-stricken girl in the tower. He felt his eyes brimming with tears again. "Diva…"

"But they _did_ happen."

Her tone was aloof once more, coldly indifferent. Her expression had changed, become fake, a look he was rapidly becoming familiar with. She had donned what he had come to think of as _that _smile, the eerie, empty look in her eyes betraying that it was not born of real happiness but of a mind that wanted badly to express happiness. "Do you want to hear the rest, Riku?" she asked with the same twisted enthusiasm she had when speaking of killing Saya, "About how I escaped and punished that awful old man?"

Riku hung his head. He didn't want to hear more, and yet he had to, for himself if no one else. He couldn't afford to let his newfound sympathy and empathy for Diva blind him to the terrible things she had done. As she spoke he could feel her pushing into his mind images, flashes of memory, just as she could push her words into his mind. He began to feel again as though he were living the memories.

--_flashback: the day of Diva's escape_--

For a short time she had been disappointed that Saya had not bothered to so much as look at her face-to-face after unlocking the door and running off, but she soon came to the conclusion it was just as well. It helped assure her that Saya was not the type of friend she claimed to be. Or rather it proved to her this concept of friendship was all about one's own self. That was what Saya cared about, not Diva. All Saya wanted was to use her to sing to her precious father Joel. That was what a friend was, someone you could use for your own benefit. In that sense, Saya had just become a very good friend for Diva.

Her thin arms strained as she struggled to finish opening the heavy door of her unlocked prison, but even as it finally swung open she fell back, blinded by light brighter than she could remember ever having shined upon her. It took several minutes for her eyes to properly adjust, at which point she staggered to freedom.

She moved slowly down the steps of the tower, knowing that if she fell she would likely break her fragile body. Then at long last she exited the tower and stepped into the outside world. She was astounded by it, the sights, sounds and scents of it all, it was overwhelming.

Her hunger, however, soon overtook her fascination. Trying to keep herself hidden as best as she could she crept toward Joel's house and the sounds of human activity she could detect there. She stalked to a quiet area, away from the main party, hiding herself in bushes from which she could observe passersby as the sun continued to lower itself upon the horizon.

It was then she spotted the man who would become her first victim. He was one of Joel's servants, perhaps a gardener or a cook, she couldn't tell and didn't really care. What mattered was he was alone and coming near her as he went about his business, utterly unaware of her presence. As he got closer she could feel her heart beat increasing and saliva massing in her mouth while her fangs lengthened. Her vision was altering, becoming shaded in blue. Through these transformed eyes her prey stuck out like a sore thumb.

It was painful to keep herself from attacking but she knew she was too weak to force the man to give her his blood. And so she waited until he had his back turned, grabbed a rock, crept up, and struck him over the head with it with all the strength her starved body could muster. She then dragged the unconscious man behind the bush he had fell next to. She collapsed, panting in exhaustion from the effort but somehow found the strength to crawl on top of him. Then, for the first time in her life, she fed beyond her meager rations in the tower.

The neck immediately stuck out as a good place to bite him as it meant she could straddle the rest of his body and hold it down if necessary. Furthermore, she found substantial pleasure when she rubbed her lower abdomen against his, pleasure she had only really experienced before by using her fingers there. She decided to keep the movements up while she drank.

It had been an ecstasy for the starved girl as she sucked on him with abandon. She drank and drank until the flow through him slaked and at last stopped. She continued to suck but to no avail and wondered what had happened, only slowly realizing the man was dead. That realization though had meant little. After all, for all she knew Joel did this on a regular basis to provide for Saya and so she should be able to get the same. She had no reason to care about this nameless man's life.

On the other hand, it did surprise her some that he had died. After all, she hadn't meant to kill him. _Are other people really this fragile, this pathetic, or was just this one so very weak? _She honestly didn't understand how it had happened. Joel himself had removed nearly all her blood on more than one occasion to see if she could survive it. She had eventually been sent into a coma-like state, but awakened and recovered quickly once she was given some blood. Why had this man died?

On the other hand what impacted her far more was the changes in her body after having fed. She felt so different, the world felt different. All her senses had become heightened. In particular her ability to feel and see the blood coursing through the veins of people in the surrounding area magnified and in turn she could see that what little blood remained in her previous meal had ceased moving. She felt stronger, faster, more alive. In fact she felt better than she ever had before, but she was still very hungry. After being starved for so long her body was rapidly using up the blood she had just consumed to rejuvenate herself. She would have to gorge substantially to recover from a lifetime of meager meals.

She had then spotted another of Joel's servants and walked toward him, feeling much more confidant than before. He seemed to be searching for the one she had killed. The man had noticed her and called her "Saya" in a confused tone, then became afraid as he noticed the blue glow in her eyes. Her reply was to latch onto his neck and suck away at it. He had let out a brief yell as he fell and the two wrestled on the ground a bit, she managing to maintain her grip on his neck. By the time he realized he could not overpower the seemingly weak girl, he was too weak himself to call for help.

A few minutes later she stood over the now lifeless body, panting over her recent exertions. Overpowering him had been enjoyable, and she felt even stronger now than before. She then decided to enter the mansion and seek out Saya's room. But first…

"Amshel…" she remarked impassively, turning to look at the man who had been standing a short distance away, quietly observing her.

"As I suspected," he said, equally aloof, "you have been freed and awakened to your true nature."

"Amshel…" she repeated, drawing her eyes to him, daring him, "are you here to punish me, to put me back in the tower?"

Amshel shut his eyes and shook his head slowly. "That would be a very foolish thing to do. Now that you have fed, there is no way that I could stop you, nor do I desire to."

"I'm going to kill all of them Amshel" Diva stated, giving him an empty smile. "Joel… his friends… you as well." She walked toward him with utmost confidence, Amshel responding by bowing down on one knee.

Diva paused, a puzzled expression on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Only what is proper when one of lesser standing is in the presence of royalty," he replied, not raising his head to meet her eyes.

"Royalty?" Diva scoffed. "Do you think words like that will make me spare you? Though… I am curious… you feel very different to me now Amshel compared to the last time I saw you. Why is that?"

"It is because of you of course. Or rather, your blood."

Diva was truly curious now. "What did you do?"

Amshel remained bowed as he spoke. "Several days ago I took a leave from my work with Joel. However, unknown to him it was because I desired to perform experiments that he was too cautious to ever attempt himself. However, the potential rewards were too great for me to ignore. And so I took a sample of your blood from the laboratory and once I was certain I had hidden myself where I would not be easily found, I consumed that blood. The initial effect was… most unpleasant" he remarked, recalling the horrible pain that had made him fall unconscious. "Yet when I awoke, I found myself reborn. Like you, I was no longer human."

"Not human?" Diva questioned.

Amshel nodded. "I am sure you have noticed you are different from other people. You do not age beyond your teen years, and any injury your body sustains regenerates at an extremely accelerated rate. You also can survive wounds that would kill any human. What you are is one reason you were caged. For you see neither you or your sister are human."

"My sister…" Diva pondered, "Is that Saya? Is that why she has my face?"

He nodded. "Indeed, the two of you were separated at birth, after the cocoons you were encased in were removed from your dead mother. While Saya was raised as Joel's beloved daughter, you were sent to the tower to undergo the opposite extreme of care. Joel wanted to see what effect it would have on your development."

_Then it is true… Saya robbed me of my freedom the day I was born. If she had never existed… it would have been me! I would have been the one favored! _Diva seethed in her thoughts. She then recalled another point Amshel had made. "If we are not human, than what are we?"

"Something greater, something beyond human experience. Regeneration, enhanced senses, eternal youth and perhaps eternal life, these and perhaps more are the powers instilled within your blood. They are powers I now possess, though I cannot compare to you. For the creator is greater than the created, just as you, the mother, the queen of your race is greater than any you may choose to sire."

Diva was only half listening now, her thoughts meandering down dark paths. _Not human… I see… yet Saya was treated as a human… why? Why only me? Why was I the only one who suffered?_

Amshel continued. "Along with my new abilities I have found myself instilled with a intense desire toward you and Saya. This caused a bit of a conflict within me at first as to what I should do. However, it is now clear to me that you are the superior of the two sisters. You already possess more power than Saya has ever shown in her coddled life. Not that you should take her lightly. The tests I and Joel have performed show that Saya's blood is deadly to you, and to me as well presumably."

Even so… your potential my lady…" his voice shook with more emotion than she had ever heard from him before, "to think of is enough to make my blood race."

"My potential?" she questioned.

"Yes, the potential to achieve anything and everything you want. As I said, it has become clear to me that you are nothing less than a royal being that all human rulers pale against. You are a queen among queens, perhaps even a goddess whose power could spread across this very planet. I wish to see that happen and to help you accomplish it, at any cost."

"Anything and everything I want…" she considered the words, liking how they sounded. Yes… she could have everything Saya had, and even more for that matter. Still… she wondered if this could be a trick. "Why should I use you Amshel? Are you offering yourself because you're afraid of me?"

"I come to you in fear and awe," Amshel noted, "and adoration. As for why, what is a queen without servants, loyal chevalier to carry out her will? After all, there is much about the world you know nothing about. I can teach you."

It made some sense. If she was a queen she did need followers. "Okay… I'll forgive you…"

She stepped closer to the bowed chevalier…

"However…"

And stabbed him straight through the chest with a single swift strike of her fist.

She bent her head to his ear as he gasped in shock. "First you'll still need to die for what you did to me. If your blood is like mine as you say, then when you come back to life I will accept you as my loyal servant, my… chevalier. Yes… then you will serve me, your queen, your Diva."

She stood up straight and smiled as Amshel crumpled to the ground, struggling to breath with his damaged organs as blood pooled out under him. Diva lifted her hand to her lips and slowly licked off a bit of his blood from her fingers, smiling at the taste, before turning to walk into the mansion.

Amshel felt his consciousness leaving him and could only hope he was indeed able to regenerate from such a wound. Moreover, he hoped that the gamble he had taken to keep studying Diva would work. Even with the desire and loyalty her blood had conjured within him, he was still a man with personal ambitions, ambitions he desired to fulfill at any cost. He needed Diva, so he needed her to be convinced that she needed him.

Diva continued through the massive building, draining and killing the few people she encountered along the way, most of them mistaking her for Saya. Their struggles and cries had been easily silenced and in a way she was disappointed. Wrestling that man to the ground earlier had been rather arousing. She pondered holding back against the next one and seeing if he or she would play with her a bit, but found no more to be had. _Most of the people must be at the party,_ she reasoned when she thought about why she had not been caught yet.

Finally she arrived at what she recognized must be Saya's room. There were so many dresses in it, she just had to try them on! After all, she had promised Saya to sing at Joel's birthday party, and one needed to be well-dressed for a party. But first she needed to clean up a bit. She smiled as she glanced in a adjacent room and noticed a bath had been prepared, probably with Saya in mind for when she returned indoors.

It would be a new experience to use one, for Diva had never had a real bath before. The most cleaning she tended to get was a quick rubdown when she was being prepped by Joel's underlings, or a couple buckets of water poured on her and the floor to wash out some of the blood, wastes and grime that would accumulate in her cell. She tore off the dirty, blood-stained rags she had worn most of her life, entered the tub, and began to wash herself off. Once done she would find a suitable dress among Saya's collection of garments. Then it would be time for her entrance at the party, to come to Joel herself for the first and last time.

_Soon Joel… very soon._

She could feel her thirst renewing at the thought.

--

The carnage was beyond his most horrific nightmares. It had started with a small fire that had erupted on one side of the courtyard. The guests had been so distracted by it that they had not at first noticed some of their peers along the edge of the crowd being ripped to bloody shreds. When they did complete chaos ensued.

Joel had watched in utter shock as in a matter of a few minutes every one of his guests died before his eyes. Something was moving among them, something so fast that their panicked states and the fire left no hope of avoiding it. Some died in the flames, either thrown into them or running into them in an attempt to escape. Most though simply died where they stood. One moment they would be unmarked, the next their heads had been torn from their shoulders or their torsos ripped in half. Others found their chests suddenly hollowed out as though an arm had punched through them, tearing out their heart and leaving them to fall next to it lifeless. Sometimes a body would vanish only to be thrown out into the courtyard shortly after, completely drained of blood.

Now the screams of fear and confusion were silent. There was only the sound of the fire blazing all around him and the heavy smell of the massive amounts of blood now seeping into the soil and stone. Joel felt himself overcome with nausea at the sight of so much gore and heaved out what he had eaten during the party.

Coughing and spitting as he tried to clear his throat, he regained a modicum of composure and stood back up. He scanned the area with his aging eyes, logic dictating that the perpetrator had spared him thus far for a reason. He involuntarily gasped as the sound of the flames crackling was joined by an eerie song, a song that he failed to recognize amid the noise of his burning home and the confusion of his shocked mind.

A short time later the song had faded. It was then that he saw her among the flames, her mouth latched onto a limp body held up by one of her hands before she tossed it away seconds later.

"Saya?" he questioned aloud, not sure what he was seeing, but then squinted as he looked more closely. "No…" Joel's eyes widened in shock. "It's _you._"

She closed her own eyes, tilted her head, and then smiled. It was a childish, beaming, innocent smile, and yet it chilled him to the bone.

"Happy birthday, Joel."

At first he could only stare at her in shock and gape, words failing him. "M-my precautions… you should never have had the strength to escape."

Diva closed her eyes, a fainter smile coming to her as she remembered the encounter that led to her freedom. "It was Saya."

Joel was again floored. "Saya?"

"She let me out Joel. She also gave me a name. It's Diva. You will call me that name before you die, but first…"

Before he could even think of reacting she had closed the distance between them and grasped his throat with one hand. "W-w-hat did you d-do with Saya?" he choked out.

Diva didn't know if he was concerned or simply wanted to know for the sake of knowing but she answered anyway. "Nothing yet. My idiot sister ran off to play with that Haji person of hers. It's just as well. She probably wouldn't agree with what I'm doing and killing her right after she let me out would have been pretty hard."

She lowered her eyes and seemed to ponder for a bit. "Saya… she is of the same blood as me… yet she seems to actually like you, though why wouldn't she? You raised her with all of your love and care while I…" her confident smirk faltered as for a moment her eyes became pained, "I…" she didn't complete the sentence, instead turning to glare into Joel's eyes.

"Why," she growled… "Why was Saya chosen over me? Why did she get raised as a human instead of me?"

For a while Joel was silent, as though weighing his odds, but in the end sighed under her grip. Accepting death was his only option it seemed and so he may as well tell her the truth. For all that he was, he still had his pride as a gentleman.

"There was no reason…" he began. "I needed one of you to serve as my contrast, a version unaffected by the influences of human society. You were identical at birth, Saya just happened to be the one I chose at random. Yet it seems you were influenced by someone… how is it you know these things about yourself?"

_So there was no reason… _She grinned. "Amshel told me. He told me a lot of things."

Joel wasn't entirely surprised. Amshel's pursuit of knowledge had always been too ambitious for his own good, even by Joel's standards. _Amshel… so you and Saya have opened the Pandora's Box that I have created, are we all to be damned now as a result?_

Even so, Joel was not prepared to die without having had his final say. "You intend to kill me child?" he said with all the confidence he could muster. "Then what? You have gained strength, but you are still as unfit for the outside world as you ever were. There is no place for a girl like you."

Diva dug her nails into his neck, drawing blood. "Then I will make my own place, even my own world. I am a queen Joel, and I will be treated as one. I will be free forever."

"How naïve. You are what I conditioned you to be," Joel groaned through gritted teeth. "You were raised as a test subject, you will always be controlled, one way or another. You know no other way to live. What's more, at some point people will learn what you are and for that they will fear and hate you wherever you go. You will be hunted wherever you go. You will never be accep- argh!"

"Quiet," she ordered, the mirth in her voice replaced by cold anger as she squeezed his neck. "I don't have to do what you say anymore, and I don't have to believe what you say anymore. There is only one thing left that I want to hear you say Joel. Call me by my name. I want you to speak my name from your own lips."

Her grip again relaxed enough for Joel to speak, albeit with effort. "You wish for me to acknowledge a beast like you by name? Preposterous!"

Diva frowned for a moment before switching to her psychotic smile again. "Then let's see how breakable you are old man. Looking at you now, I think you might be even more fragile than the other humans." Using her free arm she took his left hand and grasped his thumb, snapping it effortlessly.

Joel cried out in pain but before he could manage to speak Diva moved to his other fingers, snapping them each in turn. "Say it."

The whimper that followed from the aged scientist only incensed her further and she promptly broke his arm.

"Say it!"

"Di- va-" he choked out, unable to stand the pain. In the end his resolve could only go so far.

Diva smiled darkly. "That's right. I know who I am now. I also know who you are Joel. You aren't god, you aren't even powerful."

Her eyes began to shine a brilliant blue and she adjusted her grip on him.

"No Joel, you…"

Joel's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of her fangs.

"All of you stupid _humans_…"

She bent to whisper in his ear the last words he would hear in this life.

"You are _food._"

With that she bit down into his neck hard and fast, Joel letting out a hoarse cry as she drank herself full of his blood. The intoxicating rush of physical and emotional pleasure that followed left her wanting to shout her song to the heavens and beyond. For in that moment of twisted happiness she had experienced satisfaction for the first time.

It was nightfall and the fires had largely burned themselves out. Yet Diva still stood in roughly the same spot, seeming to stare into space as she tried to comprehend just how much things had changed. Merely a day before she had been a starved prisoner, a test subject trapped in a dark tower. Now Joel's drained body lay crumpled at her feet, his home in ruins, his friends dead. She was free to do as she pleased, but what did that mean?

Amshel slowly approached her, the gaping hole in his chest healed, his mouth bloody from feeding on some of Diva's intact victims. He bowed down "Your vengeance is complete, my queen?"

She didn't bother to look at him. "Saya is still alive…"

Amshel seemed surprised that she had survived. "What?"

"She saw me eating Joel, then she ran away. She has a chevalier as well, I can feel him." Indeed she felt a bit of a longing for him as well but quickly banished the thought. She already had one tall boring man in her life, she was in no hurry to get more. Besides, if she was to take someone from Saya she wanted it to be someone more suited to her."

Amshel nodded, "it's Haji no doubt. Do you wish for me to pursue them?"

"Don't bother. It doesn't matter to me. If Saya gets in my way, I'll just kill her."

"I see," Amshel replied in a serious tone, "then how shall I serve you Diva? What is it you desire?"

"What I desire…" she repeated as she contemplated. "Joel said that I have no place in this world, that I can never hope to belong anywhere, that I will be hunted and chased wherever I go. I would like to live with my sister. She is after all my only family and my first friend…"

Her voice turned darker, "but I hate her too much for what she took away from me. I can't look at her without seeing what should have been mine, and for that I want to kill her… I want to kill her more than I want to live with her. But Saya is gone now, and I don't want to chase her either… so what do I do?" she wondered aloud.

Her tone turned sadder. "I felt so satisfied for a little while… I killed, and I fed, and then I killed again and again… their blood was so delicious, so warm and filling. Yet now… I only feel empty… so empty, hollow and cold inside…"

"I am not human…" she continued, "so I will never belong with humans. And so…" Her eyes brightened. "I want others like me."

Amshel raised an eyebrow. "Others?"

Diva turned to him, an eerie smile in place. "Yes, that's it! I want babies Amshel. I want a family that I can make a world of my own with, a world where I belong. Until today I was denied everything, so I deserve to get everything, everything I was ever denied."

_Perfect,_ Amshel remarked in his mind, a new enthusiasm in his eyes. Diva's desire for a family fit perfectly with his desire to see what she and her race could become. "A truly inspiring vision," he commended. "Yes my lady, through your progeny a new dominant species could emerge on this world."

"I don't care about any of that stuff," Diva replied sharply. "I just want what I should have had." She directed a disdainful glare to Joel's corpse. "I will prove this old fool wrong."

_-- End: The day of Diva's escape flashback_

"It took me a long time," Diva whispered in Riku's ear, enjoying the way he trembled a bit both from her story and the pleasure of her lips against his earlobe, "and Amshel failed me again and again… but finally, I found you, my Riku. With you, all my dreams will finally come true. I will never be alone again. Yes, making you a chevalier was the second thing Saya ever did that helped me."

Riku was repulsed by her story of murder and vengeance, but he didn't dare voice it. In her current state condemning anything she had done would only lead to a violent response. And so he focused on the knowledge he had gained of her suffering, and the desire to comfort her that had come from it. Wordlessly he held her, stroking her gently as she fell back to sleep peacefully for the remainder of the night.

_-- End: One year ago flashback_

Riku was brought out of his reminiscing by a mental tug at the edge of his senses. It was Diva's way of telling him she had come back and would see him soon. He found himself smiling a bit and feeling more excited than he had all day.

For when she was in a stable mood Diva could be surprisingly fun to be around, albeit her immaturity was often frustrating. Sometimes he would even forget about the terrible things Diva had done, the fact that he was technically a prisoner of a girl who wanted to kill his sister, among other things.

They played board games, video games, watched tv, she even had him read stories with her occasionally. At other times she simply talked with him for long periods on various, often mundane, topics. She was even interested in hearing about his former life back in Japan, so long as he avoided speaking about Saya in any great detail, although she did find the tales of Saya's initial blank slate amnesiac personality to be highly amusing. Other times they would have picnics outside or simply lay in the grass watching the clouds or stars.

This Diva was not at all the monster he had first encountered back at the tower, and as he came to know her better he was finding more and more redeeming traits in her. At times like this he would act completely as himself, even arguing with her if they disagreed on some bit of info or a rule in a random game.

Then there was the other major aspect of their relationship, the one which could still make him blush a bit just thinking about. Given the desire he could already feel from her he knew they'd be engaging in this and not a board game when she returned.

Right on cue the door burst open. However, the sight that greeted him was not what he had expected.

"What do you think Riku? Surprised?" she twirled about to give him a good look from various angles but the boy could only stare speechless. What stood before him appeared to be no less than a feminine version of himself.

"H-how?"

Diva laughed, and giggled again at the sound of his gasp as she randomly morphed her voice to mimic his in sound and manner. "Didn't you know? Queens and chevalier can copy the appearance of anyone they've fed from. I haven't shown myself like this to you until today, but it was actually decided a while ago that this is the form I'd be using for those performances Nathan is setting up for me. I thought it'd be appropriate, given how important you've become to me. Its almost like having you with me even when you're not here, like you're alive inside me and the babies that I'm sure are there as well."

"I'm important to you?" Riku asked in an uncertain tone. Diva often said affectionate things to him in passing or in the midst of seducing him, but this seemed different, more personal and real.

She gave him an uncertain look, as though her own words had confused her, but then brightened, apparently reaching a conclusion. Suddenly she was directly in front of him, her arms around him, looking down on him, entrancing him with the blue glow of her eyes. Somehow she had in that moment returned to her true form as well, her soft locks caressing his cheeks as they fell from her newly lengthened hair. At the same time her expression was eerily far from soft and yet seemed to hold some affection. Her now luscious red lips had tilted in a slight smile and hints of madness flashed in her glowing orbs.

Riku stiffened under her gaze, then forced himself to relax and go as limp as possible while still standing straight under his own power. He had seen this look enough by now to know Diva wouldn't truly hear him if he spoke or objected to something. The intensity in her expression was as frightening as it was hypnotic because it could mean so many things. It was a look Diva often displayed when she was particularly unstable, but he knew tensing up and acting overly afraid would only incite her psychosis toward a violent outlet. And so he relaxed, willing himself to be the pliable "doll" that could reach Diva's softer side even when she was in this state.

"Yes Riku," she said, her smile growing slightly, but the madness not fading. She seemed in a semi-manic state, her mind obsessively clutching to an idea she had formulated and come to love. "You are important, very important. You understand, don't you?"

Riku did his best to neither affirm her question or reject it. The fact was he didn't understand, and could only hope she saw fit to explain it further.

She caressed his cheek and Riku did his best not to shiver, the look in her eyes was so hard not to be unnerved by. Yet under her caress he could more easily feel the genuine affection that existed behind her diseased mind. It allowed him motivation to relax.

At last she spoke again. "Your form, our form, that is what you are to me. I have let you keep living as you are Riku, but I believe we are still as one. I've never let anyone as close as I have you and my thoughts seem to always come back to you. With what we shared that first night and all the times after, you are more than my lover now, you are a part of me! I don't care about anyone but myself, but I care for you so you must be me as well."

"Is that…" Riku's tone wavered, "is that true?"

"Love, friendship…" Diva continued, "I have never had those things and I don't understand them, but with you perhaps I can. Either way, I feel as though a part of me would be torn away if you ever were taken from me."

Her grip on him tightened.

"If it came to that, to losing you to someone else, I would do as I almost did that first night and make sure no one else would ever be able to have you or take you away from me. I want to keep you as you are now, but don't you see, I could kill you and still have you. You would live on as part of me and everything would be good."

"Then why…" Riku asked earnestly, "Why do you not want to think of losing me? Why are you keeping me alive like this? It doesn't guarantee anything. I could die tomorrow for all we know."

Confusion donned her features again and Riku was relieved to see the manic tension in her ease. Clearly what he had said had broken the insane tangent she had been on by indirectly pointing out a flaw in it. "I… I don't know…" she said slowly. "I want you here with me always, but I want to be able to see you too… to feel you and talk to you… I don't want the Riku I can see to die."

Riku was surprised. For Diva to admit something like that was quite unusual, and it was probably as far as he'd get that day toward reaching her troubled mind. Noting she still seemed confused, he decided to relieve her stress and grasped her in a comforting hug. As usual she stiffened in reaction to being touched like that, but soon melted and returned the embrace.

"Mmm… Riku… you're so warm…" she whispered. Diva was now reminded of the strong urges that had brought her here.

She began to nibble his ear and his whole body seemed to shiver in anticipation as he blushed. Diva noticed it immediately and ran a finger against the front of his pants to press against the hardening arousal behind it. "Oh Riku-" she remarked in mock surprise then grinned wryly, "You really missed me, haven't you?"

Riku could only blush and slightly avert his eyes from hers. "Uhh… yeah… I guess I did…"

He let out a muffled cry of surprise as she pulled him into a passionate kiss that left his heart racing. When they finally broke apart Diva took his face in her hands and pulled him so close her lips brushed against his in a sultry intone. "I'll need to give you some _extra_ special attention…"

--

_I didn't sign up to the SAS for this!_

That was the main thought running through the young officer's mind as he and his companions fired round after round into the… thing, in front of them. He had known they would be encountering creatures that reportedly had been the cause of various disappearances in recent weeks. People had vanished during the night and in cases where a body was found it had been drained of blood. He knew it was a dangerous mission to kill the perpetrators, but he'd never expected this.

The creature they had searched out to this large entrance to the sewer system was nothing short of a monster. Bullet after bullet struck its flesh yet it continued toward them, the wounds healing right before their eyes. Their weapons barely slowed the thing down, clearly they had come ill-prepared. A grenade or bazooka would be really nice to have right about now.

As it was he and the others had turned and begun to run when it became clear they couldn't win. Yet the creature was surprisingly fast. He had only taken a few steps before it had all but closed the distance between him and his group. He could practically feel its breath on the back of his neck but he didn't dare look back.

Suddenly the creature's maddened howl was replaced with a slicing sound and he heard something large hit the ground with a thud. At this he and some of the other men did turn around and could only gawk in shock at the sight before them, barely visible in the darkness.

A beautiful light-haired woman in a dark cloak stood before them, a large sword, dripping blood, in one hand. Beside her was the body of the monster lying on its side just as it had fallen, minus its head, which had landed a few feet away.

Before they could react any further the woman hid her blade away and then vanished in a blur of motion, leaving no trace of her presence aside from the dead chiropteran at their feet.

--

"I'm sorry you weren't able to get a chance to test your abilities Kai…" Irene said softly as she and the chiropteran-turned boy strolled away from the scene.

Kai shrugged, "don't worry about it. Lives were in danger so its not like you could afford to wait for me to catch up."

Irene couldn't help but notice he still seemed a bit glum over his lack of performance. She leaned into his shoulder, trying to catch his eyes with hers. "You're strong Kai, don't doubt yourself. It was only one night."

"Thanks Irene, I do appreciate that." He turned and took her into his arms, hugging her tight. When they broke apart she moved to kiss him only for him to block her with a finger and a grin. "We should probably meet up with Lewis and David and get back to Gray's before things get hot and steamy between us, you know I find it hard to stop once we start."

She blushed deeply and turned away, "Kai… you… stop teasing me!"

Kai only laughed good-naturedly and put an arm around her shoulder as they continued on. In truth he was actually in a pretty good mood even if he hadn't been able to prove himself useful in a fight. The fact was that here in London, for the first time in a year, they had a good solid lead on the chiropterans. And where artificial chiropterans were, Diva's chevalier were likely to be nearby. And where her chevalier were, so Diva was likely to be. And where Diva was they just might find _him._

_We're getting closer Riku… just hang in there,_ he thought, putting the last part as much for himself as for Riku.

--

Later on they had arrived in another part of town and been picked up by their charming, if somewhat rotund, driver.

"So good hunting?" Lewis asked jovially.

"Well Irene took one out," Kai remarked proudly, "but Irene is certain there are more. Also, its pretty clear that those SAS guys can't handle them."

"I see," David said and looked at the two in the backseat. "Myself and Lewis will be accompanying you on your next search. Also, Joel will be coming by soon to deliver the bullets we requested of him. I think its time they had a proper field test. Irene, now that you've scouted the area do you have a general idea of where it would be best to look next?"

"I do," she nodded. "Their presence was faint but once I killed the one near us the others became easier to distinguish."

"Good," David replied. "You can help us draw up a search grid. Hopefully the sightings and other incident reports we've gathered can narrow the location further. Until then you both should take it easy."

Irene was in full agreement there. Although they needed no sleep it still felt good to lay her head on Kai's shoulder and rest. On the drive back they could reminisce or simply enjoy each other's warmth. Despite the tragedies that had brought them together and the worry the young man held for Riku, she could still say they were quite happy together.

She did wish Mao hadn't been hurt by their relationship though. The girl had been quite devastated at first finding out but over time seemed to come to accept it. She was glad for that as her and Mr. Okamura's ability to gather information was very helpful to the still debilitated Red Shield. Monique, a girl who lived with the man, Gray, they were staying with also seemed rather disappointed when she found out Kai wasn't available. At least the kind orphan hadn't gotten her hopes up much before finding out.

And at least no one but she and Kai knew the details of how they had ended up together. It would be embarrassing to say the least if it ever became known and she knew she was blushing just from the memory. Still she couldn't help but savor it.

_-- Flashback: around 6 months ago_

Kai had thrown himself into his training with a gusto that was appropriately super-human. Above all else he wanted to be useful and to be able to do something more the next time they encountered Diva or her chevalier. He wanted to become as strong as he could, for Riku's sake.

Irene found his efforts inspiring and spent most of her time with him, teaching him slowly how to bring out and control his abilities, as well as simply being with him and there for him. As time passed she was proud to find Kai confiding things to her, concerns and problems that he didn't share with others. It made her feel special, useful, needed. She was happy beyond words to have formed such a strong bond with someone other than her fellow Schiff.

Kai's training had proven more difficult than expected simply because his chiropteran side was born from Diva rather than Saya who had born Irene herself as well as Haji and Riku. They had no idea what unique powers his body might have, and out of fear of him losing control to the influence of Diva's blood, slow progress was believed to be a necessity.

Still progress had certainly been made. By now Kai had managed to transform his arms and accessed his new strength and speed, the latter of which seemed slower than other chevalier could accomplish. Using it properly in combat was another matter, Kai's reckless nature tending to make him too aggressive and thus opening him up to deadly counter attacks. Keeping a cool head meant suppressing the primal bloodlust he usually felt when his powers were active. Even with Irene's gentle guidance it was not an easy task.

To Kai's relief his transformed body was much more like Haji's than Diva's chevalier's monstrous forms, which surprised most everyone as Haji's powers had been born of Saya's blood. Clearly the form a chevalier took when transformed was dependant on more than who the mother was. Aside from his eyes and fangs only his arms and hands physically changed. His hands were much like Haji's except they were more thickly plated with armor, and instead of Haji's razor sharp claws his fingers ended in blunt nails. Together they formed a hand that could not slash like Haji's but rather was made to create a fist with all the strength and stability of a sledgehammer. What's more he could punch the ground with enough force to send out a shock wave that could knock nearby enemies off their feet.

His lower arms were also heavily armored, each covered over by a single large, wide, plate. Their bulkiness hindered the speed of his punches somewhat, but in return he could use each arm as a shield more effective than Haji could. Tests done on its structure indicated the armor could even handle high caliber bullets with little damage. It seemed that where Haji was suited to fast attacks involving slashing or impaling enemies, Kai was suited more for defensive fighting followed by somewhat slow but extremely powerful punches. The structure of his hands also gave him a grip like a vice, so that locking one hand onto the base of a chiropteran's neck and using it as leverage for the other hand to tear off the creature's head was deemed the most effective way for him to kill a chiropteran.

As for Irene she had felt increasingly odd around Kai over the past few months as they grew closer. Her heart rate would rise when he was near her, to the point of making her nervous and fidgety at times. Then there were the strange desires and thoughts that seemed to coincide with him. Seeing him with another girl would make her anger briefly flare and she'd even consider hurting that girl in surprisingly violent ways before realizing what she was feeling. What's more, when they were alone together or whenever she happened to get a peak at him with his shirt off or even whenever he happened to brush his skin against her, she would feel a rush of excitement and heat. She would feel the urge to touch him and to be touched by him, _everwhere_, to press against him and not stop, not stop until... well she wasn't sure just where things were supposed to lead after that except that she wanted to do it badly.

She knew enough to know these feelings had to do with romance, but was at a loss otherwise. So she had taken to studying by watching romance movies, or at least what she assumed were romance movies. But what she saw on some of them, namely her accidental viewing of a porn movie, just made things worse as far as controlling her desires went. It had gotten to the point that she had started to avoid him, afraid of what she might do if the heated feelings became too great to hold back. This was rather difficult though when she was the one training him and they were often left alone for long periods while David and Lewis scouted out potential leads.

So today she found herself watching and admiring Kai as he practiced in the main area of their lodging in a large apartment the group had rented out for their stay in that area. He leapt about, hammering into imaginary opponents while she gave tips, then sparring with her directly.

"Remember Kai," she told him as she laid her sword on the ground and transformed her hands into the monstrous, spine-shooting, clawed ones the Schiff were known for. "Just because I'm not using my sword doesn't mean you can afford to hold back."

"I got it," Kai replied, impatient to begin. "Let's do this!"

"As you wish," Irene stated, vanishing in a blur of motion and striking hard and fast as Kai attempted to block, Irene getting past it and slamming her fist into his stomach. Kai stumbled back but recovered quickly, Irene's punch having been much lighter than she could have made it as this was only sparring. He then lashed out with a strong punch, forcing Irene to leap back to evade it. She rushed back in but Kai was ready this time and the two grappled, hand to hand against each other.

Their close proximity was not doing anything to alleviate Irene's lust. She could feel his rapid breaths on her skin as they struggled, and his masculine scent was driving her crazy. Then there was his blood… she could sense it just underneath his skin, hot blood flowing from his exertions… so much of it. She wanted to taste him, to feel him… _so_ badly…

Kai was also noting a strange smell, this one coming from Irene. It made him feel oddly aroused. And while she had donned her cloak he still couldn't help but admire the grace of her movements. _She really is something… I wonder just how big they are… no! Focus Kai! Ogling a girl isn't gonna get me any closer to saving Riku._

With that resolve he, for the first time, managed to work past Irene's guard, grabbing her shoulder and ramming her into the opposite wall. He brought the spar to an end by brining his other hand to her throat, signaling she was "dead." He smiled, reverting his hands to human form just as hers had reverted upon her loss. "I finally won one."

It was then he noticed her heavy breathing, heavier than his own, her shaking frame and how she was keeping herself from looking at him. "Irene?" He pulled the hood of her cloak off to get a better look at her face, revealing her long, light hair. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked in a growing panic. Chiropteran or not it was still sometimes hard for him to not see her as a fragile girl he needed to protect.

_He's so close to me… too close!_ She thought in a panic of her own, her whole body getting hotter and hotter. _I can't take it, I can't hold back! _"Kai…" her voice was strained, pleading and hungry. It had lost its sweet quality and seemed more intense.

He touched her smooth cheek, raising her face so her ears would meet his. "Irene?" _Damn she smells good…but why is she blushing so much and breathing so hard?_

It was then that she grasped onto him by the shoulders, swinging him around and slamming him into the wall before pressing the length of her body against him. She embraced him tightly, climbing him, riding him, her hot breath at his ear.

"I-Irene? Wha- ah!" he cried out, suddenly feeling his whole body become ever more awash in heat.

"Kai…" Her breaths came in gasps, her voice husky and full of lust. "I want something… its not blood…"

She rubbed her body against him more closely, moaning quietly.

"I want… ah… I want you… ahh! I want you to touch me…"

Her voice in his ear sent pulses of pleasure through him and Kai was completely overwhelmed. He'd never felt such a great desire before as what was welling up in him now, which being a teenager was really saying something. It rose in him and increased with every movement of her body, every sound that escaped her lips, every bit of contact her skin made with his. It clouded his mind in a fog of pleasure. Was this another result of being a chiropteran, this weakness to one's base urges?

She was so soft, so smooth, so strong… he couldn't stop her… didn't want to stop her… he could feel the curves of her lithe form through her clothing as she gyrated into him, his arms holding her tight and caressing her. She was nibbling on him, sucking on him, and soon they were exchanging wet, inexperienced, wonderful kisses. He moved to her neck, the sound of her moans and purrs driving him wild.

"So hot… mhhmm… Kai I feel so hot inside…"

"I- Irene… why- ah!"

Her clothes were loosening, coming off through her own efforts and his, revealing the perfect pale skin beneath, long healed of the Thorn. As more fell away he found her body to be everything he'd imagined and more. He then noticed Irene was tearing his own clothes off and were he not possessed by his chiropteran lust he might have cared about the damage she was doing.

Soon their clothes were scattered about the room, some in pieces, and then they were writhing on the floor. Nothing seemed to be enough, every touch fueled passion for another, until at last they became one, their eyes ablaze in red. Going further they bit at each others' necks enough to make small cuts and licked at the blood.

Irene's lips left the wound on Kai's neck, arching her body against Kai's thrusts. "Please…" she pled, her eyes shut in ecstasy, "please don't stop Kai, don't stop… oh… yes… yes!"

Climaxing, they bit harder at the other's neck and sucked greedily, moaning in the dual pleasure and continuing until the wounds had closed.

Their chiropteran lust at last sated, their boldness vanished in turn. They blushed brightly and rolled away from each other before lying still, gasping as they continued to try to catch their breath and the magnitude of what had happened dawned on their rational sides. It was too much too take in, too shocking to accept what they had just done had really happened

_Wow… wow… we just… how could we just… I mean I knew I liked her but for it to happen like this- agh damn it! I even sucked her blood!_ He thought more about the latter, how Irene's neck had looked so gorgeous, so delicious, how the more he tasted her the more he wanted to taste and how delicious her blood had been, a thought he certainly never would have expected having when he was human. Taking a deep breath, Kai turned his head to face her, prepared to begin apologizing and try to salvage whatever might remain of their friendship. He was shocked to find Irene looking back at him, tears sliding down her cheeks and looking more sorrowful than he'd ever seen her look before.

"I'm sorry," she sputtered over her sobs, holding her discarded clothes around her like a blanket and blushing. She'd dealt with the blood thirst for so long and had largely mastered it, she should have been able to handle this other thirst she had developed.

Kai on the other hand was so new to these urges, he never stood a chance of resisting them, not with the way she had thrown herself at him. "I shouldn't have done that… I promised Saya I would help you and instead I drew out your urges in order to sate my own. I even took your blood. I just didn't know what to do… I wanted you… all of you… so badly… I didn't know how to deal with those feelings…"

Kai's expression turned downcast. "Is that all it is Irene? Are you trying to say that this was just a random thing, that hormones took over and that's all there was to it? Did you do this with me just because I happened to be available when you were in heat or something?"

"No!" she replied, horrified that he had gotten that impression. "I would never- I care about you so much Kai… please… please believe me… you're the only person I've ever wanted this with… I just… I couldn't hold back any more. But to use you for my desires and then throw you away… it was never my intention!"

"… You really mean that?" He asked after a pause, his tone neutral.

"Yes," she implored, her voice shaking with emotion. "Because my feelings for you… I don't know if I have a right to say I know what love is, but I… I think… I like you so much Kai… I want… I want to love you."

"I see…" He was silent for a bit more, only to then relieve Irene's fears with an encouraging smile. "It's a good thing then that I think I want to love you too."

A new flood of tears came and Irene tackled him with a hug, her clothes discarded once more to the side. Kai held her close as they cried and laughed, and spoke at length about the feelings they had been holding back. As they talked, they cleaned up and retreated to her room to continue to explore the new aspects to their relationship, a resurgence in their hormones once again blunting their inhibitions, though not to the same extent as before.

Lying in her bed cuddled against him, Irene sighed contentedly. "Even now it amazes me. I never imagined this body of mine could feel such incredible pleasures after bringing me nothing but pain for so long. You gave me that pleasure Kai, I only hope I was able to give you something approaching that level of feeling."

"Well, there's no doubt about that…" Kai remarked. "I never imagined it would be at all like that but it still felt so good… better than anything I've ever felt before…"

She kissed his cheek and closed her eyes. "Thank you for saying that Kai."

"It's the truth," he replied, then looked at her in concern. "You're sure you feel okay right?"

Irene giggled a bit. "Kai, I told you before you didn't hurt me. Even if you had I would have long since healed by now. Why do you keep asking?"

Kai looked distinctly uncomfortable and avoided eye contact. "It's just… isn't it… suppose to hurt for girls the first time? I mean, not that I'm bothered if that wasn't, its just the way you acted so unfamiliar with… ah just forget it!"

"It's okay," she replied nervously, "and oh yes, I did learn a bit about that in that DVD on human anatomy David had the Schiff watch to help us learn more about humans. Its called the hymen right?" She blushed as did he, "I don't know if I ever had it, but even if I did with all the injuries I've suffered and all the physical exertion I've put myself through, it could have broken on its own a long time ago. Something like that wouldn't regenerate either I guess."

She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. "And it was my first time. I hadn't even really felt those desires until after Saya healed me, and even then I felt them most toward you."

It was then they heard Lewis' voice announcing that he and David had gotten back. The two chiropterans panicked and hid under the covers.

"What do we do Kai?" she squeaked. "I don't regret this but I still don't want them to know it happened! Its private, right?"

Kai looked at her seriously. "Yeah, it is. Besides, who knows what kind of lecture we'd get, and Lewis would never let us live it down." He took a second to think. "Okay, just stay calm. We'll get dressed and just act like nothing happened. If they ask why I was in here we'll say we were talking."

"But what about your torn clothes?"

"We'll just say we overdid it a bit with the sparring, no worries" Kai smiled.

It worked too. Lewis gave them a number of suggestive looks but it was pretty clear he was unsure. This allowed Kai and Irene to simply mention that they were together later on when David noted how close they had gotten, a comment that held more weight than Lewis's joking observations.

_-- End:_ _around 6 months ago flashback_

Irene couldn't have stopped smiling even if she tried as she continued to envision the fond memory. Then, just because she could, she planted a kiss on Kai's cheek before resting beside him again, Kai smiling warmly in return. Irene was an angel to him, an angel that had been there for him when he was at his lowest. He wanted her to remain with him always, he wanted to show her the place he had grown up in, to give her a taste of the kind of life she had never had the chance to live. And now his hope was stronger than it had been in months that Riku could be there with them to share it as well.

--

Sex.

To Riku it was at the same time the most pleasurable and twisted aspect of his and Diva's relationship. Even in his thoughts he found it hard to conceptualize. Nevertheless his ample free time meant he had contemplated it often.

Shortly before his death, his father had explained sex to him and, embarrassing as it was to listen to, he had taken his words to heart. Beyond the reproductive purpose it was special, the ultimate way to bond with someone physically. He was further told sex was something he should only have with the woman he loved and intended to spend the rest of his life with.

Diva didn't exactly fall under those categories. She was an enemy he had feared for nearly killing him, a girl who had abducted him from his family before half-seducing, half-raping him. And she had continued to use him for her own pleasure ever since.

Indeed, to Diva sex was essentially one of the two greatest pleasures she could indulge her body in, the other being the consumption of blood. As such she indulged in it without any real concern for the emotional aspects Riku had been taught were to be associated with sex.

Yet Diva was quite immature emotionally, in many ways less mature than Riku himself. Her captivity had kept her from ever truly maturing beyond the whims of her desires. So could she be judged on what she was ignorant of? Perhaps it was better for him to consider his part in this. Just what were his feelings for Diva anyway?

He certainly felt lust for her, most strongly when she was present but sometimes even when she was away. On occasion he would find himself patiently waiting at the door hoping, even as he mentally berated himself for it, that she would come in and have her way with him. Her touch, her scent, it was all so addicting…

He also had come to feel sorry for her as over time he witnessed in person more and more of the effects her torturous upbringing had inflicted on her. But to love her… it was hard for him to tell even what romantic love was. Lust was a part of romantic love and he certainly had that, but to really love her he'd have to love who Diva was, even at the times when the lust was not there.

Therein laid a roadblock. The fact was that even after a year spent with her he felt he understood her only partially. In fact he doubted Diva even understood herself very well. Her unstable mind made it hard to tell just what was her real personality and what was merely a symptom of her insanity.

On that note there was Diva's resolute belief that she had become pregnant early in their relationship. Riku was inclined to believe her, though he found it odd that after a year there was still no external evidence. It sounded crazy, but he reminded himself that Diva was not human and so did not necessarily have a nine month pregnancy. He also had at times thought he had "felt" the infant's presence, much as he could feel Diva's presence. Then there was how he felt about having children at an age when he was considered by most to be little more than a child himself. Frankly he found that even harder to think about.

Perhaps the worst part of all was that the majority of the time he found himself enjoying being what amounted to Diva's pleasure slave. Pleasing Diva in any way, but especially with sex, filled him with euphoria along with a sense of completeness and purpose. He knew it was his chiropteran blood that gave this feeling and wondered if Diva's presence induced in it the release of chemicals that made him literally addicted to her. He certainly loved to smell her and she him, as if their bodies were making some kind of pheromone for each other.

When she was gone though, the guilt over what they were doing would at times return and eat away at him. Yet, instead of wishing to stop being with Diva, he was now more inclined to wish that they could experience intercourse the way it should be experienced. He wanted Diva to see it could be more than just pleasure and a way to make babies. For that matter, he wanted to see it himself.

He was quite sure Diva would benefit emotionally and mentally from real intimacy, but she seemed to lack the level of understanding needed. What she did have was a libido worthy of being the one successfully breeding chiropteran in the world. This was further enabled by her having little sense of shame, which meant it didn't seem to matter a lot to Diva where or when they did it so long as she had it when she wanted it. Another way to say it would be to say she liked variety. In bed, on the floor, in the shower, the bathtub, against a wall, on a chair or couch, in the morning, afternoon, or evening. All of them were options. Diva's lustful urges could also come calling at all hours of the night, especially if the vampire chose to carry on an erotic dream into real life as she tossed and turned.

That she was essentially shameless also brought no small amount of embarrassment. Sometimes she would even start undressing him while one of her chevalier was in the room. Thankfully they had the decency to leave right away when such a thing happened.

However, the fact it was not an uncommon event didn't seem to ever keep it from being exciting for Diva and Riku. This was particularly clear to the couple in question at the moment. For Diva currently had the young chevalier pressed up against a wall in their room. As usual Diva was already undressed and was rapidly relieving Riku of his own clothes. His pants were already down and pushed aside, Diva having long ago mastered undoing his belt.

They had actually already gone a few 'rounds' on the floor over the room over the time since Diva had decided to give him "special attention." He was nearing his physical limits at this point and, assuming they were done, had gotten up after a period of cuddling and begun to put his clothes back on. He had been nearly dressed only to have the lustful queen find her second wind and tackle him into the wall.

She rapidly unbuttoned his shirt and drew her tongue and teeth up along his chest, causing him to arch his neck in pleasure, Diva then slipping the shirt off. They continued and it wasn't long before she had gotten him to enter her, so that now she was grinding against him, bracing him against the wall as she rode him.

Riku had his own arms around her and was doing his best to return the affection. It embarrassed him but he knew how much Diva liked it and with his face currently held against her chest anyway it seemed natural enough. So he tentatively went on to nibble and suck on her breasts a bit. As expected Diva's moans altered, becoming more pleasured as she became more stimulated and rode him even harder.

She literally banged him up against the wall quite forcefully, but thankfully his steady diet of blood meant that Riku's body had become a good deal stronger and tougher over the course of the year, even if his physical appearance had hardly changed. The wall was not so lucky, their activities leaving various cracks in it. His enhanced strength also enabled him to support her as she wrapped her legs around him to thrust him even deeper into herself.

"Yes… yes!…" she whimpered as she panted, nearing her bursting point, intermittently tossing her head back with her gyrations. Riku for his part continued to stimulate her breasts with his hands and mouth, sometimes moving to nibble her neck and jaw line. For even though Diva insisted on being the aggressor in these encounters (something Riku had no desire to argue) she still enjoyed what reciprocal actions he was able to make against her.

Climax came and somehow the two managed to remain standing until it subsided. At that point Riku started collapsing, his legs feeling like jelly, only to be held in place by Diva's embrace. Stronger than he was before or not, he still couldn't match her power and stamina. Thus as she giggled and brought her face down to his to give him another fiercely strong kiss, he knew that if she wanted to go again he wouldn't be able to respond much, at least at first. Not that Diva seemed to mind taking him when he was in such a weakened state. In fact she liked it.

Keeping him close, she carried him to their bed and laid him down on it before blanketing his body with hers and renewing their kissing. His expectations turned out to be a bit off though as Diva quite suddenly bit down on his neck and started to feed, a satisfied moan emanating from her soon after. Apparently she had in fact gotten worn out a bit and she was not above using Riku as a hearty meal. After his previous exertions Riku doubted he could take the blood drain long before losing consciousness so he simply enjoyed the intimate sensations of her mouth and tongue's sucking actions for as long as he could. He closed his eyes as her pleasured murmurs brought a slight smile to his face. In spite of everything he loved being able to make Diva feel so happy, especially when he knew that through this he was also likely helping other people.

For this scene had its origins early in their odd relationship. It had started only a few weeks after Diva had abducted him. Diva had begun spending portions of the day away practicing her singing with the chevalier Nathan. He wasn't sure what it was all about, he wondered if even Diva knew but all she gave were evasive, playful answers about how Amshel said her voice was important and that the world needed to hear it.

Then one day she had returned later than usual.

_-- Flashback: about one year ago_

"Sorry Riku," Diva chimed with a smile as she walked into the room. "I stopped to eat and had to get another ride back."

Riku's attention perked at that. Normally when Diva referred to 'eating' in that particular casual tone it meant she was talking about consuming blood from a living source. And since it had effected her arrival at the mansion he doubted she had merely fed from one of her chevalier, who would have still been able to take her back on time most likely. That really left only one conclusion, and it made him feel sick inside.

It was further confirmed when he took a closer look at her and noticed the partially dried blood smeared on the side of her face. "Your… your cheek?"

"Huh? Oh! Silly me. Guess I missed a spot," she remarked, wiping the blood off her cheek with a finger. "Like I said, I got hungry on the way back, and the driver was annoying me so I decided to make better use of him. It took a bit for Nathan to clean him up and get me another ride, and of course he had to whine about it the _whole _time."

_Then she!… that blood… is from her driver? She killed him? _He felt himself unconsciously tremble. He knew this side of Diva existed, but that made it no easier to deal with. Diva though seemed to not notice his reaction at all as she strolled toward him, still speaking.

"He wasn't worth the effort really. He tasted so bad I didn't even finish, must've had clogged arteries or something, I wonder how long he would have lived if I hadn't killed him…" she mused casually and wrapped her arms around the boy only to pause at the way he flinched under her touch. It wasn't his usual nervous flinch, the kind she loved to bring out and seduce away, rather he had recoiled from her as though he found her repulsive.

She loosened her grip and frowned at him, feeling something between disappointment and annoyance. "Why such an ugly face Riku?" she asked, noting his own frown and sad eyes. "You know that I want to see you smile for me."

"You… killed him…" Riku said blankly.

"Yes?" She really didn't see what the problem was. Its not like Riku had any relationship the driver, he'd probably never even seen him.

Suddenly Riku looked up at her, his eyes moist and his voice stricken, as though something he cherished had been taken away. "But he worked for you! He served you and trusted you! So why… why kill him?"

Diva shrugged. "He served as a meal, even if not a very good one." She cupped his face in her hands to keep him looking at her and frowned a bit more at how he angrily averted his eyes. "Are you really going to waste your anger on such a worthless life? He can be easily replaced, a hundred times over if need be. He was just a paltry human, not even cute."

Riku's frown remained. "So that's what makes something valuable to you, how easily it can be replaced?"

"Of course," she replied. "And be careful Riku, just being cute and fun won't be enough reason for me to keep you around if you keep complaining like this. You've already spoiled the mood," she pouted.

Riku sighed at the teasing threat. He knew it was pointless to try to convince Diva that killing and draining people was wrong, because Diva had no real concept of right and wrong, no moral code. She lived according to the whims of her passions and instincts. She saw what Joel had done to her as being wrong but never transferred those feelings to an empathy for others. Still, he had to do something.

"But your chevalier…" he started uncertainly, "why don't you just use them to get yourself blood?"

"They're not always around," she remarked plainly. "Besides, it's never exciting. They just stand there and let me drink."

"Then why not just use the cloned blood or the stuff from the blood banks like what you give to me?"

"Again," she said, irritation now in her voice, "its boring. As if I would drink such things unless I had to to. Blood like that is plain-tasting and cold, it makes me want to throw up. It can't compare to the taste of warm fresh blood straight from the source."

"But you can't just kil-"

"I'm done with this silly talk," Diva interrupted in an angry tone, signaling that she wanted the conversation to end and if he were to ask another question she would react violently. She cupped his face in her hands, her expression more threatening than before even as she smiled seductively at him. "It's not your place to say what I can or can't eat Riku." She leaned forward and kissed him, only to stop and frown at his lack of response. She felt her anger rise, but she was simply too tired from the day's work to act upon it. She had wanted to play with Riku, to cuddle and fondle him and perhaps make a bit of love before falling asleep with him in her arms. Yet the mood was now ruined. With a huff she turned her back on him.

Riku was silent, merely staring as Diva walked away, his mind racing as he tried to think of a solution to all this. Then it came to him, an idea that would give her mind something it did understand. "Use me!" he shouted after her.

Diva stopped in her tracks and gave him a confused look over her shoulder. "What?"

His initial bravado gone, Riku blushed and looked away, twiddling his fingers nervously. "You've said before that my blood was some of the best you ever had right? Well, then why not take mine? You can have all you like from me, and I won't fight you or try to run or anything. If you'll just stop hurting other people for it. Please Diva, I don't want to think about that when I see you!"

Diva realized then that in the few weeks since taking him she actually hadn't fed from him yet and wondered why. One reason was that she was enjoying the sex so much that blood was actually not on her mind much when she was with Riku. She also didn't want to spoil the set-up she had gained in her relationship with Riku. But if he really was giving himself to her…

She turned to him with her usual expression of false innocence. "So, you're offering to let me feed from you whenever I please, without complaint, so long as I stop eating other people?"

"Y-yes," Riku stammered. "I'm a chevalier, so I should be fine and you'd have me available whenever you wanted."

Diva's smile didn't falter as she reached out and traced his cheek with her finger then sliding down his neck and chest, Riku struggling to keep himself composed. "What's to stop me from just taking your blood?" She brought her hand back up to his face and after flick almost too fast to see Rikku now sported a tiny cut on his cheek, Diva's outstretched fingernail coated in his blood. "You are mine after all, little boy."

Rikku trembled a bit. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop her. He barely noticed his cut sealing up in the intervening seconds.

"Still…" Diva closed her eyes, contemplating then sighing contentedly as she licked the bit of blood from her fingernail, her eyes brightening at the taste. "I have never had someone who was not my chevalier willingly give me blood before, and I'm _always_ up for new things."

Before Rikku could react her body was pressed against him. She whispered in his ear, "but Rikku… I will have to taste the merchandise a bit more before I agree to such a thing. And you can't _just_ give in. I enjoy a bit of struggle. To make this really good I also want you to pet me, hold me, call out my name… understand?"

Riku gulped, no longer so confidant about the wisdom of this whole idea.

She then pushed him onto the bed and crawled on top of him, licking her lips as she eyed his neck. She could sense the flows of blood in it, fast and hot. It was enough to make her mouth water. She licked her lips as she stared down at the boy, her eyes glowing an eerie blue. "You're going to fill me up Riku…"

With that she went for his neck, licking, then nibbling before at last biting down hard, moaning in pleasure as Riku's blood flowed into her mouth. The blue glow in Diva's half-lidded eyes flickered with her arousal. It seemed impossible but the boy tasted even _better_ than he had back then. His was now perhaps the best blood she had ever tasted. She closed her eyes fully and reveled in his taste.

The brief stabbing sensation of her fangs piercing his neck had sent an overwhelming jolt through his body, making Rikku convulse under her and begin to lose touch with his surroundings. Much like the first time, it had not really hurt. In fact, this time it felt quite good. Diva's saliva seemed to have a rather anesthetic/aphrodisiac-like effect on him, and so he simply became engrossed in the pleasant sensations of her body upon his. What's more he felt some primal portion of his chiropteran mind reassuring him that this was good, that to share one's blood with the queen was a great honor.

Diva continued to feed, growing ever more eager and forceful in her actions. She licked and sucked with abandon, intermittently biting again to reopen the wound as it attempted to heal itself. The whole process was extremely pleasing for the queen, as well as for the chevalier who responded as best he could with his own movements.

Riku felt his consciousness begin fading, and a sense of panic spread through him, giving a warning that was only barely registered in his euphoria-filled mind. Diva was taking too much and he knew loss of blood could be a problem even for a chiropteran. Growing weaker by the second and his mind still dulled by pleasure he strained to speak, managing only a gasping "Diva…"

That utterance actually seemed to arouse the queen even more, as she growled, purred and moaned into his neck, the movements of her throat and jaw muscles plainly visible as she took ever more of his vital juices. She rocked and bucked against him, moaning louder. Rikku lost any remaining will or ability to fight back and drifted into unconsciousness, even as an intense pleasure overwhelmed his senses. Soon after Diva released him with a loud gasp and lay upon him for a bit, panting hard as she recovered and noticing with slight concern how her bite wound upon Riku was neither healing quickly or bleeding much.

She had clearly overdone it, not that it mattered, for a chevalier could be all but drained of blood and still recover quickly once they did gain access to new blood. Instead Diva was as shocked as she was pleased. Feeding had always been a sensual experience for her, often leaving her ravenous for sexual satisfaction, or even taking the place of it. However, never before had the act of feeding itself been enough to cause her to orgasm. And the pleasure was different, yet equal, to what she could got from mating with him. Yes, she could get used to feeding just on his blood.

She looked him over and noticed with quite some satisfaction from the stain on his pajamas that her lover had climaxed as well during her feeding. This whole experience offered so many intriguing possibilities for future games. Still, first things first. His life may not be in danger but she had still drained a lot of blood. The sooner he got his strength back the sooner she could play with him some more. Licking her lips to catch the last remnants of her meal she reached over to the bedside table to grab a glass of red liquid there. Diva herself didn't like drinking blood this way, but it was about the only way to get Riku to and so the glasses were made available to him each day. Opening the boy's mouth she gave him a soft smile and slowly poured the blood down his throat.

Diva frowned though as despite his unconscious attempts to swallow, some of the blood was sliding out the corners of his mouth. That wouldn't do at all, he deserved every drop. She carefully licked his face clean before taking a mouthful of the blood and kissing him to transfer the blood more effectively. It was all so very romantic! She giggled as his body reacted on reflex, his mouth sucking and his teeth attempting to bite into her. It didn't matter, he wouldn't be able to make her bleed or drink her blood unless she let him, and she was having far too much fun to allow that.

The "fun" had continued as a regular part of their interactions ever since. As for Diva, she actually hadn't had much intention of keeping her word, not at first at least. Yet the more she drank of Riku's blood the less she wanted of other blood. It was strangely addicting. Indeed, normal human blood soon became utterly distasteful to her. She could barely keep it down even when hungry. The blood of her chevalier remained acceptable but it was now only Riku's blood that she craved. In turn his blood seemed to adapt to her attention, becoming thicker and richer so that she had to take less than before to get full. For such incredible blood she didn't mind giving into his demand that she not eat people.

_-- End: about one year ago flashback_

The haze in his mind lifted and he realized Diva was now asleep on top of him, a bit of his blood trailing from her lip like drool. It made her look cute… in some disturbing way at least. Riku marveled again over how his blood had apparently changed to suit Diva better, so much so that even after enduring a heavy feed in such a fatigued state he still lost consciousness for only a short time. Not to mention she could normally feed and leave him only somewhat tired.

He and Diva, he wondered. Just what were they? And what did it mean for them, for his family, for the world in general?

--

"Run!" Kai commanded the frightened man who had just watched an artificial chiropteran drain his companion dry. He nodded and turned, fleeing into the night air of the dark street.

Kai glared at the creature before him. It seemed this night they had arrived a little too late to save one man, but now at least they could stop the beast from killing further. "What do you say David, ready to give those bullets I came up with a field test?"

David gave him the slightest of smirks as he raised his gun, "don't take all the credit. You may have had the idea but it was Joel who paid to have them made."

He proceeded to fire round after round, each hitting the chiropteran's upper body. At first little damage was apparent, but then the bullets detonated from inside the creature, destroying most of its chest in a bloody display.

"Well that certainly looked effective," Lewis remarked, lowering his own, normal, gun with a smile.

"Perhaps…" Irene added in an unsure tone. Her eyes then widened. "Kai! With this one down I'm sure I can sense it, there are more of them!"

Even as she spoke a cry of pain and fear tore through the night and from the direction that the man from before had fled came the hulking figure of another chiropteran. Grasped in its jaws was the unfortunate civilian, clearly already dead.

"They're multiplying," Lewis noted with exasperation and leveled his gun at it. His concentration was broken, however, by a feral growl from Kai.

"Damn you…" Kai snarled at the vampiric beast, his clenched fists shaking in rage, his fangs lengthening. Without another word he ran headlong at the creature, his right hand transforming into his chiropteran hammer fist.

"Kai!" Irene cried out, concerned that he was making a reckless attack. She moved to intercept him only to gasp as she again sensed something. _Behind me._ She turned just in time to raise her sword in a block as a third chiropteran tackled her to the ground. Unable to get the leverage she needed to throw the creature off her she was forced to concentrate on keeping it from getting its jaws close enough to maul her face.

"Irene hang on!" David called, trying to aim so his few remaining bullets wouldn't hit her by accident as she grappled with the chiropteran only to be interrupted by Lewis.

"We got a problem," he indicated to the body of the fallen chiropteran. It seemed that while the bullets had done a lot of damage it hadn't been enough. The creature's head was still attached to its body and it was getting back up, regenerating at amazing speed.

As for Kai, his increased speed allowed him to get in close before the chiropteran could attempt to defend itself, and he had thrust his hand into the creature's upper chest, intending to lock onto it at the base of the neck and use the leverage to tear its head off with the other hand. The attack certainly penetrated, but he had underestimated the damage it would do. For instead of giving him a solid hold his hand had broken right through the chest and was now stuck in an awkward position in the beast's ribs. While it was a lot of damage, this type of injury meant little to the chiropteran, which had merely roared in anger, gripped his shoulders with its arms and bitten down on his neck before sucking his blood.

With one arm caught inside the chiropterans' ribcage, Kai strained to force the creature off him with his other. However, what they lacked in intelligence the artificial chiropterans made up for in brute strength. With both its jaws and arms locked on him Kai could do little but keep the creature from biting harder than it already was by using his free hand to keep its lower jaw from fully biting into him. _This is too close! With the way its holding me I can't move enough to build up enough force in my punch._

_This is bad… this is really bad,_ he noted as he checked his surroundings as best he could and noticed everyone else was occupied.

--

Silently trailing behind the tall, blond chevalier known as Nathan, Riku pondered just what could have happened to warrant him being fetched from his and Diva's room at this late hour. Diva had been out late practicing her singing and he was fairly sure he had sensed her returning to the immediate area of Nathan's large home. It would be quite unusual for her to throw a fit in such circumstances as getting back to the house was normally something she looked forward to.

However, a fit itself was not so unusual. At times a chevalier, usually Nathan or Solomon, would come to his room and send him out to wherever Diva happened to be at the time. Sometimes this was by her own request if she got too bored or lonely but more often it was the chevalier using him to placate her. Diva's whimsical and unstable nature could turn violent even around her chevalier and she was prone to sudden bouts of rage and depression that could make it dangerous for anyone to be in the same room with her and impossible for any work to get done involving her.

For Riku Diva was at her most frightening like this. Her eyes would be glazed over, not in lust but as if empty of thought or feeling. She might gaze long and hard at an object in her hands before randomly crushing it, throwing it or tearing it apart. He always had a bit of fear that she would do the same to him, but every time as soon as she stepped close to him she would calm down. His presence had somehow become a pacifier of sorts to her, a person through whom she would work out her aggression and frustration on. He believed it was something about his scent that calmed her as she often would spend a bit of time sniffing his neck and hair and sighing contentedly as she moved to kissing him.

Calmed was a relative term though, as usually Diva would still need to work off the energy of the aggression she had built up. Riku's presence diverted that energy from destroying the room around her to satisfying her body with his. She was controlled enough in this to not seriously hurt him but nonetheless could be quite rough compared even to their usual passionate couplings. She would be vicious in her demands at such times, not caring much at all about his pleasure and simply seeking a quick climax for herself. He could count on her biting him hard and even dislocating bones with the force of her movements. Yet despite looking much the same his body had become much stronger and able to take the damage, so it didn't hurt a lot and he healed quickly.

Looking at her afterwards he would never be able to find it in him to be angry at her for her actions. Finally spent of the stress and turmoil in her mind, she would stare back at him looking utterly lost and broken. She would rarely speak during these encounters, but would usually hold onto him in a tight hug, sometimes for minutes, sometimes for over an hour, seeking what comfort she could gain from his presence.

He had always had a heart for comforting others and this seemed to manifest strongly in his chiropteran blood. Whereas he was normally hesitant and shy when it came to touching Diva, when he saw her in such a broken state he would without thinking walk or crawl over to her to grasp her in a tight hug. The first time he had done this her whole body had gone stiff in shock only to melt into his arms seconds later. He wondered if she had ever been hugged in such a situation before. More than anything he felt compelled to comfort her. He would even initiate kisses at such times.

One thing that struck Riku as odd from the start was that no matter how terrible her fits and nightmares were, Diva never shed tears. Seeing her enter such states and be unable to release the tension in tears was sad enough for Riku himself to sometimes tear up. To see her end up with an expression so blank and devoid of life was heart wrenching for him. Diva had reacted with surprise and confusion to these feelings when he had expressed them for the first time and it had lead to an enlightening conversation.

She claimed no one had ever cried for her sake and was touched to see Riku do so. When asked why she never cried she simply replied that she no longer knew how. Her tears had been long ago used up in the darkness of that tower, where no one would see or hear them. She would remark that tears are pointless when one is alone so she simply stopped crying. Now she had no more reason to cry. One cries for themselves or for others. She would no longer cry for herself, for she had risen far above the sad, weak creature she had once been. And she would never cry for others as that would mean they were important enough for her to appear weak for, something she claimed she would do for no one.

Regardless it seemed as though he was helping her. Diva's breakdowns and fits had become rarer and their intensity lessened as time passed. Indeed she no longer did him much damage when using him to relieve her various frustrations. He was also sure he at times saw a genuinely warm expression from her, rather than the cold innocent glee she usually showed.

It was then he remembered something he had hoped to ask Nathan about. He didn't usually speak to the chevalier except when spoken to, but this would be an exception. He never really got opportunities to speak with Amshel but Nathan seemed like the next in the line of power and was also not so intimidating. "Um," he started uneasily, "Nathan, sir, can I ask you something?"

"So the little man can speak!" Nathan replied dramatically, looking back at Riku and giving him a broad smile. The kid had to be one of the quietest he'd ever seen. "I'm all ears."

Riku steeled his will. "Wh- why do you chevaliers do all these experiments on people? Diva doesn't seem to know or care much about them. How are they helping her, what's the point?"

"Heck if I know," Nathan exclaimed, sounding irritated by the topic. "Brother Amshel is the real force behind most of the nasty cloak and dagger stuff. He seems to think the more we understand about Diva and her blood's abilities the better off she'll be. And to find that out he needs subjects to experiment on and when it comes to the number of experiments he seems to think bigger is better. I don't really understand it... As for me I basically handle my own art and do my best to help Diva in my own way."

In a movement too quick for him to catch Nathan was suddenly behind him speaking into his ear. He hated when chiropterans did this as he couldn't help but gasp in surprise every time and be made more aware of how little his abilities currently compared to theirs. "And just between you and me, I don't think Amshel really understands Diva all that well. If it were up to me we'd focus more on her happiness rather than trying to fill the world with chiropterans, let alone making those gruesome excuses for our kind with that Delta 67 stuff. Don't you agree?" Riku gulped and nodded, still unnerved.

Nathan straightened up and walked ahead again, shrugging his shoulders. "Alas, it isn't up to me, and so long as Diva doesn't forbid it Amshel is free to do as he pleases."

Stopping at the door in front of them he turned to Riku and smiled. "Now then, be a good boy and calm Diva down for me will you? The poor dear seems quite frustrated over something, though she wouldn't tell me what. She does tend to get bored with her practicing, but this reaction is a bit much."

He rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "She tends to get hungry too. A whole day of practicing with her voice means a lot of feeding. After all that I'm too drained for now but she does like your blood best so I think you can fill her up nicely," he smirked at the innuendo and Riku blushed before half-heartedly entering the room.

--

The room was barely lit, but it was easy enough to see that it had been thoroughly trashed. Objects from shelves, pieces of furniture and assorted ornaments lay strewn everywhere, and in the center of the chaos stood Diva, rays of moonlight illuminating her features although her face remained shrouded. In her hand she held what look to be one of Nathan's expensive vases.

He stood silent for a time, waiting to see if Diva might respond to him, only to get no reaction. Taking a deep breath he then stepped forward. "Diva?" he said in a tone as non-threatening as he could manage. "What's wrong?"

The sound of the shattering vase stopped Riku in his tracks as Diva's grip on it magnified in the barest of moments. Her hands were now empty, clenched into fists, her shoulders trembling. She seemed as if she might explode at any moment.

Taking his chances, Riku continued toward her until he was finally within touching distance. She had not yet attacked him so that was a good sign, but he still needed to calm her down. "What is it?" he asked again, placing a hand on her shoulder lightly. "Why are you so upset?"

"Can't you feel it?"

Riku froze, his whole body tensing up at the cold anger in her voice. "Feel? Feel what?"

Diva gave him a sardonic smirk. "Then you haven't noticed… after all, you haven't used your powers much, and it is some distance from here."

Confusion etched his features. "…Diva?"

--

Lewis and David stared down the regenerating chiropteran, hoping that if they both fired together when it attacked them they would at least be able to drive it back. It was a gamble, but they needed the creature incapacitated again before they could focus on Kai and Irene. Moments passed and then the creature pounced, only to be rammed in the side and thrown to the ground by, of all things, a flying cello case.

Irene finally managed to kick the chiropteran off of her, but lost her sword in the process as it was gripped in the creature's teeth. She turned to Kai, transforming her right hand into the barb-firing claw all the schiff were equipped with and ran to free him, only to stop in her tracks as a sudden, powerful presence struck her senses.

--

"She's come back Riku… come back to take you away from me…"

Diva embraced him but the boy found it difficult to find any comfort in it when her voice seemed so drenched in hate. Still, her words caught his attention. "You… you mean…"

--

Irene tried to calm her racing heart as she realized she was not sensing a new enemy. _Wait… I know this feeling! This presence is…_

The feeling had caught the attention of the chiropteran holding Kai as well as it lifted its head from his neck and let out a howl. The one that had been attacking Irene did the same.

Kai glared up at the chiropteran, trying to ignore the pain in his body, which was still unused to such combat. He had sensed the approaching presence too. _Damn it Kai!_ He berated internally, _Irene always said to go for the neck or head, and what do you do? Get your hand caught in its damned ribcage. There's no way I'm letting her see me like this!_ With a groan he mustered what effort he could to grab its neck with his other hand and crush a portion of its throat. It wasn't enough to kill it, but it did let go of his neck and shoulders, giving Kai the chance to brace himself and pull his other hand out before staggering back to nurse his wounds.

Every combatant's attention had become diverted to a dark street before them where the sounds of shoes upon stone could now be heard echoing from quiet steps. The sound was soon accompanied by a feminine silhouette emerging from the darkness.

--

"Saya…" Diva whispered wistfully, "she is so persistent. My sister really is annoying. But don't worry Riku… I won't ever let her take you away. Saya will never take anything from me again." She released Riku and strode slowly for the door, leaving him stunned still and silent.

--

Her hair was longer, her clothes were different, but there was no mistaking the red glow in her eyes. Haji watched from the sidelines, his impassive expression set, as she raised her sword, cutting into her palm and letting the blood fill the blade.

By now the chiropterans were moving toward the red-eyed queen, continuing to utter their unintelligible guttural howls and growls. Created from Diva's blood, their instincts now desired only to fill their bodies with Saya's, even if it meant their own death. The true cause of the instinct to seek out the queen's blood was the desire to mate with her or serve her, but their minds and bodies were too malformed to accomplish that. No, these pitiable beasts, once human, could only pursue her scent and gather like moths to a flame.

And as Saya strode to meet them head-on, everyone felt one thing for certain. Chiropteran blood would fill the street this night.

--

**Notes: **

Wow! This chapter ended up taking longer and being longer than I expected it to. It took a lot of time for me to figure out how to put all the scenes together in a workable way as it covered so much material. It was worth the time I think but I do apologize to any who were waiting for this.

As for why I didn't split the chapter up into two chapter, it was because I from the start wanted it like this. That is I wanted a chapter full of flashbacks that ended with Saya's return. Hopefully future chapters won't take as long. They certainly won't cover so many events.

About the flashbacks, if anyone is confused the format for them goes like the following. First in italics is the word "flashback" for when a flashback is starting. Then is a description of at what point in the story the flashback goes to. When a flashback ends it is marked by "end" followed by the description of what flashback is specifically ending. This was necessary as at one point at least I had a flashback within a flashback.


	4. Chapter 4: Moments in Time

Sympathy for the Diva Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue

Note. In this chapter "time skip" between scenes refers to where I fast-forward to the next portion of the story that I will be covering. Whatever is left out can be assumed to have gone the same way pretty much as it did in the anime.

--

Part 4: Moments in Time

--

Saya stood perfectly still, her blade held casually at her side, her blood upon it slowly dripping out onto the street. With an impatient howl first one then all three of the artificial chiropterans she faced began to race toward her, calling out their blood lust.

The chiropteran closest to her opened its jaws wide as it took the final few steps to its prize. However, at that instant Saya's body seemed to become a blur of motion and suddenly she was directly in front of the massive chiropteran, her sword more than halfway buried in its belly. The creature was stunned and had no time to react before, with a fierce battle cry, Saya freed her sword through its side with a powerful slash. It fell on its uninjured side, sprays of blood from the wound drenching her body before the twitching remains of the chiropteran crystallized seconds later.

The second chiropteran reached her a moment later and swiped with its massive arms, each strike missing as Saya expertly spun away and dodged, her attacker's claws ripping into the pavement. She came to a stop and faced the one chiropteran, seemingly not noticing as the second of the survivors ran toward her from behind.

"Saya behind you!" Kai cried out on instinct.

He needn't had worried, as Saya was already moving into a crouch to avoid the swipe of her second attacker's arms. The chiropteran hit only air as Saya leapt back up, driving her elbow into its belly and in so doing pushing them both back enough to avoid a new slash from the second chiropteran. Adjusting her weight to brace one foot on the pavement, Saya then proceeded to deliver a bone-crunching kick into the second chiropteran, one that sent it flying across the street to slam into a stone wall before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

No sooner had she done this than had the first chiropteran started a fresh strike, opening its jaws wide to snap at her. But again the attack met only air, as Saya's body blurred with her movement, leaping high above the chiropteran where she seemed to float in the air for a moment, her sword angled down and drawn back. Powered by gravity, she fell upon her target, stabbing her blade forward and straight through the back of the chiropteran's neck. Bracing her feet against its back, she pulled the sword free and then flipped backward to land gracefully on the road. Crystalized, the chiropteran shattered into hundreds of pieces upon hitting the ground.

"Amazing…" Lewis remarked in awe.

Kai nodded, his mouth agape. "I've never seen Saya move that fast before."

"And she's so much stronger," Irene agreed. David for his part merely observed intently.

Ignoring her audience, Saya turned to her remaining enemy, just now back on its feet. Then, without a word, she stabbed her sword into the ground and calmly walked toward the once-human monster.

"What's she think she's doing?! She left her sword!" Kai yelled in protest.

Lewis was dumbfounded. "Why would she make it harder on herself by fighting with her bare hands?"

"Because Diva can," David spoke up, his expression somewhat grim. "Given what we've seen her do, Diva could kill chiropterans herself with ease by simply ripping them apart. It makes sense that Saya would want to test her strength like this." He glanced back for a moment. "Isn't that right Haji?"

The others jumped a bit at the chevalier's sudden appearance behind them, but Haji was nonplussed and simply nodded to David. "Saya has been concerned that she relies too much on her blade."

Another inhuman roar sounded. Now more enraged than ever, the artificial chiropteran charged at the red-eyed queen in what would be the final time. It reached out with one arm to pin her to the road, only for Saya to stop it in its tracks with one hand, gripping it so tightly that her nails pierced its skin. Her eyes blazed even redder than before as she faced its strength with her own, bearing her fangs and letting out her own hissing cry. Then, even as it tried to strike her with its free arm, Saya leaped up, using the arm she held for leverage as she dealt a spin kick to the chiropteran's head. The force was so great that the creature's neck twisted then snapped, the arm she held ripping off as the body spun onto the street, blood flying everywhere. The chiropteran was dead, but only for the moment.

Tossing the torn arm aside, Saya approached the still-twitching remains, her expression unchanging. She looked down upon the body, raising one leg over the creature, then smashing her foot upon its neck. A moment later a sickening crunch echoed through the area as Saya's stomp severed the chiropteran's head from its neck, finally truly killing it, as well as cracking apart the pavement below where she had stomped.

Eerie silence now replaced the sounds of battle as Saya turned her back on the corpse and strode to retrieve her sword. Picking it up, she again approached the dead chiropteran and swiftly stabbed into the body and severed head once each, reducing them to crumbling stone and thus ensuring an easier clean up. Her eyes were downcast, her movements robotic and she had yet to acknowledge the presence of the others at all.

The sight filled Kai with a sense of unease. A part of him felt like rushing to greet his adopted sister, yet fear gnawed at him over what he had just seen. The sight of the red-eyed queen in battle, her skin and clothes spattered with the blood of her foes, was not an easy one to reconcile with the image of the sweet sister he still held in his heart. Irene, Lewis and even David also seemed a bit uneasy. "She's different…" he remarked finally, his tone growing increasingly concerned. "In the past Saya was so emotional when she was fighting. Now… now it's more like she was when fighting after Haji first awakened her. She's… cold."

"Yes," Haji agreed quietly. "Saya has taught herself to access her inner nature and keep it under control. She can let go of her emotions, and fight as the situation requires, without losing herself in the process. She is not the same as the Saya who left you a year ago, however, I believe she is closer to the real Saya than before. Will you not accept her like this?"

Under Haji's questioning gaze Kai felt his resolve renew itself. He would trust Saya as he always tried to. He nodded his thanks to Haji, then approached Saya, the others walking behind him. He stopped as she finally turned to face him. "Saya…" he began, only to find himself unsure of what to say. "Uh… I…" He scratched the back of his head and beamed at her with his best smile, trying to hide any remaining nervousness. "Long time no see sis."

Saya's fierce expression rapidly fell away, almost like a mask as her lips curled into a smile and her eyes watered. "Kai…"

Next thing either knew they were embracing, Saya sobbing into his chest. "I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye! I know I've said that before over the phone but I wanted to tell you in person. I just… after what happened I…"

"It's alright," he replied quietly, not caring about the blood on her clothes getting on him. "It was probably for the best, and you're back now so… we're okay, right?"

She smiled, regaining her composure as she wiped at her eyes. "Yes." She then turned to the others and bowed. "Thank you, all of you, for being there for Kai."

"Glad to help," Lewis smiled. "David here may not admit it but the kid's become quite an asset to Red Shield while you've been gone."

David glared at Lewis for a moment at his comment but quickly turned to address Saya in his usual curt manner. "It is good to have you back with us Saya. I am confident that this time we will succeed. Joel has been working hard behind the scenes to resurrect Red Shield's former strength. Soon we will have all the resources we need."

Irene bowed low. "And thank you for the help just now. We weren't expecting to fight more than two of them at a time so it got a bit out of hand."

"Yeah right," Kai scoffed. "Irene with the way you move I bet you could have beaten all three yourself if you hadn't had to worry about bailing me out of trouble."

Irene blushed. "Kai… this is different from our spars. You should be proud that you did as well as you did on your first try. Next time I'm sure you'll show everyone how amazing you are," she said adoringly.

"Now that I see it in person I have to say you two really are cute together," Saya grinned. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks," Kai remarked, now blushing a bit himself and eager to change the subject. "So Saya, Haji, what do you say we head back to Gray's? Monique, Nahabi and Javier have been dying to meet you two."

Saya smiled warmly, "We'd like that." She looked herself over and blushed, "a bath would be nice too. I must look like a villain from some horror movie."

But as she stepped toward them her eyes suddenly lost focus and her sword fell from her hands. Irene gasped as Saya stumbled and began to fall, Haji instantly at her side to support her.

Kai stared at her, his face etched in worry. Saya had seemed so powerful only moments ago, yet now she looked incredibly weak and tired, as if she could pass out at any moment. He stepped toward her. "Saya, what happened? What's wrong?"

"Were you injured earlier?" Lewis asked in concern.

Saya stepped away from Haji's support, standing just fine now but still looking worn out. "I'm fine," she remarked with a smile that seemed all too fake. "It's just been a long journey and you got me thinking about sleeping in a real bed for a change."

No one seemed al that convinced, but they didn't want to sour the mood by forcing Saya to talk about something she seemed so uncomfortable with, so they let it go. Yet Kai knew Haji's looks well enough by now to be quite sure the chevalier knew what was happening and that he was perhaps the most concerned of them all.

--

Riku sighed as he lay next to Diva in their bed, exhausted but of course unable to sleep, only rest. He sat up a bit and glanced from side to side in the dark room, turning slightly annoyed as he spotted the various torn and tattered pieces of clothing that had been an expensive suit a few hours ago. It wasn't as if he had to pay for the clothes but it was still an unfortunate waste in his eyes. At least he had managed to calm his unstable bedmate down, though it left him in his current state.

For Diva had been more than a little reluctant to go to sleep. Sensing Saya had put her on edge to a degree that Riku had rarely seen. She had lost the eerie composure she normally held, ranting and raving for some time over the possibility of Saya taking him back. She eventually became set on going out and finding Saya herself that very night and it had taken every bit of pleading and coaxing that Riku was willing to risk against Diva to lead her back to their room first. Once there he had kissed her full on the lips, his sudden forwardness shocking Diva out of her fit and igniting her passion.

She soon was tearing his clothes off and rather fiercely making love with him. It had been tiring but enjoyable as usual, though at the same time the tumult of negative emotions that Diva channeled through it had been quite jarring for the young man.

He looked down at her. Even in sleep she did not seem at peace yet. She tossed and turned, sometimes uttering his or Saya's name's. A brief look into her dreams had shown him they basically consisted of a rather demonic-looking Saya dragging him away from Diva, even cutting the babies out of her body and leaving Diva alone in utter darkness. Joel's face, his words and various images from her captivity would randomly intersect these scenes and from time to time a tortured scream would deafen everything else.

His empathy taking over, Riku held her close in his small arms, Diva proceeding to hug him tightly and possessively, in her sleep. At least she now seemed to be resting more peacefully, living him to wonder and worry about the future. He'd managed to distract her for now, but he wondered if he would ever figure out a way to have a rational talk with her about Saya. Nevertheless he held onto the hope that both sisters might survive this war. In his fondest hopes and dreams he saw himself helping Diva to build a real life for herself, to let go of her anger and find the happiness she had sought for so long.

Maybe it was madness to feel such things for Diva. Maybe he was suffering from the syndrome he had read about wherein kidnapped victims come to befriend or even fall in love with the one who kidnapped them. Regardless, he was sure of one thing. Hoping for such things as happiness for the future kept him going day by day.

--

Saya yawned as she pulled the covers of her bed aside and settled down for sleep. She had wanted to visit more with David's former instructor Gray and the war orphans he now cared for, but everyone had been pretty adamant that she rest. Then there was the matter of locating Diva and her chevalier, but David had informed her a full planning meeting on that needed to wait until after the rest of the Schiff had finished scouting the city. It was another reunion to look forward to. In the meantime she didn't go to sleep just yet, knowing Haji had wanted to speak with her in private ever since her stumble in the aftermath of her battle with the chiropterans.

"Saya," Haji stated once satisfied that they were alone. "What happened earlier, you know what that meant… the time is approaching."

She nodded, her expression serious. "I know Haji, but I'm stronger now. I didn't even fall asleep and I feel better already. I just need to hang on for a while longer. We finally have leads, even if its risky I have to fight or it will be another thirty years before I have a chance to end this."

Haji was silent for a moment, but then bowed his head in assent. "As you wish." He personally did not like this situation at all. Saya's decades of dormancy were always preceded by a variable period where she required more sleep and suffered sudden bouts of fatigue if she overexerted her body. The strength she had gained in the past year seemed to help her control the symptoms, but it was still dangerous to fight knowing she could experience another bout of fatigue at any time. Plus, the symptoms were bound to worsen as the time for her dormant period came closer.

Saya tried to give him a reassuring smile. "It's okay Haji, see? I'm fine now. I'll get a good night's sleep and be good as new, for now at least."

"And what of the others?"

She sighed sadly, "They have enough to worry about. This would just add to it when there is nothing they can do about it anyway. I'll let them know when it starts to actually affect me during a fight."

For a moment Haji seemed like he wanted to heave a heavy sigh of his own but he didn't. He merely bowed slightly to her. "As you wish."

--

The same images always showed themselves at some point.

The stone tower.

The blue rose-covered walkway.

And that damnable door.

They were fragments, the pieces of memory that escaped her subconscious even during her period of amnesia.

But ever since Riku's abduction it had taken on more terrible and abstract traits.

Saya stepped past the open door and entered a dark void. Looking behind her she found the entryway had vanished. She was now alone in the darkness. Except she wasn't alone.

"Saya."

Her eyes snapped in one direction then another, her ears straining to tell where the strangely familiar yet distorted voice had come from. She ran toward it, not knowing or caring just where she was.

"Saya."

"Who is this?" she wondered aloud. "Where are you?!" she cried more desperately.

Then, with no warning, another figure appeared in the darkness. There had been no change in the light but she could see him perfectly, sitting near her with his arms wrapped around his folded legs in a semi-fetal position, his face bowed and hidden behind them.

"R-Riku?" she dared to ask.

"Why didn't you save me Saya?" he replied without looking up. "Was I just not important enough? Is it because I'm just your chevalier now and not your brother anymore? Am I just some slave to you now like Haji?"

Saya was horrified at his words. What had she ever done to make him think such things? "Riku… no… no! It's nothing like that! I tried!" her eyes watered and she began to sob, her voice weakening. "I really tried my best!… I wanted… I wanted to save you…"

Riku let out a chuckle so eerie and dark that Saya was chilled to the bone. "Of course… I was never really your brother to start with was I? We weren't even the same type of being. How could I ever expect a murderous bloodsucking beast like you to see me as a brother? Ha, I bet you only bothered to make me into a chevalier for your own amusement. Did you think it would be funny Saya, to stick me with the body of a 14 year old for the rest of my life?"

Tears were now freely flowing down her face. "Riku… why… why are you saying these things?"

His bitter smile fade, replaced with a angry frown. "You should have let me die back then Saya… It would have been better, better for the both of us." He raised his face fully, revealing glowing red eyes that seemed devoid of anything she had known in the old Riku.

Saya's eyes widened and she gasped only to freeze still as she felt a hand upon her shoulder.

"Riku's right, it would have been better."

She turned slowly, knowing who was behind her but not wanting to believe it.

"But I'm glad you didn't" she said with cruel cheer. "Thanks to you I have a wonderful new toy."

Her lips trembled in a mixture of rage and sadness. "Diva…" She instinctively reached for her sword but there was nothing there.

Diva walked over to Riku, Saya trying to call out to him, to run to him, but finding she now could neither speak or move. Her sister knelt down and wrapped an arm around the boy, whispering into his ear words all too clear for her.

"Kill her for me Riku… and in return I will free you from this life."

He stood up, his body changing, his face altering until he was unrecognizable as a human. He began to walk toward her.

"Riku… no… don't do this…" She could speak again but still not move.

"It can't be helped," he remarked in words devoid of emotion. "I am what you made me. A monster, just like you."

"And monsters must die," Diva added with a laugh. "So why don't you go first Saya? After all, you are the one who started all this."

"No… not yet… I can't die yet, I have to save you first!" she pleaded to Riku as he continued his slow approach.

Diva laughed again. "That's funny Saya… when were you ever able to save anyone? All you did for Haji and Riku was make them a part of this battle between us. You deserve death and you know it."

She couldn't deny her words, but she couldn't accept death like this either, not when her mission had not yet been accomplished. "No…" She shut her eyes tightly, the sound of Riku's footsteps and Diva's laughter continuing to echo in her ears, "NO!!"

She screamed, pleading, begging for everything to just stop, and for a moment it did. All was quiet and still again, but as she opened her eyes she was greeted with the sight of a Vietnam village, its homes burning, its people full of fear, fleeing and screaming. She got up and tried to follow them, only to trip and fall hard amidst the grasses. She struggled back to her feet and tried to regain her bearings only to freeze stiff in shock as she looked upon the figure that now stood before her.

Saya shook in fear and turmoil before the thing that frightened her most. Herself. Seeming to tower over her knelt form was the Saya who had unleashed her terrible rage against chiropteran and human alike in Vietnam all those years ago. Her hair was long, her clothes ragged and she was covered in blood. Yet there was no doubt to her identity, though not a trace of humanity could be found in her crimson eyes.

She looked up into the eyes of her doppelganger, and cried out in despair. "Why?! Why did everything end up this way?!"

Diva's voice came from behind her. "Because you are weak. Selfish, naïve and weak."

The voice of her adoptive father, George, now joined in the background. "Evil, blood-sucking monsters like you… why should the world have to endure them? Why did I have to baby sit and die for one?!" Saya could only hold herself as her body shook with the tumult of her emotions.

Suddenly, the first Joel, the man who had raised her, stood beside her. "Atone for my mistakes and yours, my daughter," he said softly. "You know there is only one way to end this. You've known it ever since the day I died."

Saya was alone again in the darkness, her weeping the only sound. Trembling, she tensed her hand at her chest and pulled back before slamming it through her ribs with all her might, the sounds of cracking bone and spurting blood echoing in the void. Grasping her goal she pulled her hand out, now holding her still beating heart.

"I must…"

"I must atone…"

"I alone… for all of it…"

"I have to atone!"

She crushed it, gore flying everywhere.

--

Saya awoke with a panicked gasp, her intact heart beating wildly. Haji was at her side, holding her hand as she tried to calm down. "Are you all right?"

Saya's breathing slowed and she nodded with closed eyes. "Yes… I'm fine. It was just another bad dream."

"Is there anything I can do?" he inquired.

She shook her head, "no… it's my problem…"

"There are many who wish to share your burdens more," he noted softly.

"I'm the reason they have a part in this burden in the first place. I refuse to weigh any of you down more than you already are, including you Haji." Her voice, however, did not match the bravado in her words. More than ever she seemed so weak and tired, and within seconds of laying back down she seemed to be asleep again.

Haji kept watch over her with an intense gaze that gradually softened until he reached out his human hand and stroked her cheek with it before smoothing her hair back.

"Sleep well."

In fact Saya was still semi-awake and it was only her depressed mood that kept her from blushing. She appreciated the gesture from Haji more than she could say, but she already knew that sleep in her new adoptive home was not likely to be all that peaceful. A sense of foreboding had filled her. For now that they had again gotten close to Diva, chances were things were going to start happening quickly, and many of them would not be good things. She would soon be proven right.

-- _Time skip_

Lulu could do little but cry in Irene's arms. The little artificial chevalier had contacted Red Shield via her cell phone late that night, frantic to convey they were being attacked and pleading for help. The chiropteran members of Red Shield had sped to the scene with David, Lewis and their various subordinates close behind.

Yet they had arrived too late. The chevalier who led the attack was gone, as were the other surviving attackers. Far worse, Darth and Gudrif had been slain in the ambush. Lulu was for now inconsolable, and so they relied on Moses and Karman, injured, angry and sorrowful but coherent, to recount what had happened.

The new enemy had been strange, formidable clones of Moses, albeit clones in form and ability but not DNA. Though he did not state the reason for the switch, Diva's chevalier, James, had proudly boasted that these "Corpse Corps" were made from Diva's "superior" blood, unlike the Schiff who had been made from Saya's. It seemed her blood was similar enough to Saya's to copy Moses' design.

Thus it was that no single Schiff save for Moses could fight the clones directly one on one and win, they were simply too strong and skilled. However, the Schiff had a great deal more actual experience fighting and acting as a unit, and unencumbered by the Thorn they were able to work together to take the Corps down one by one. They would work to separate one from the others, limit its movements by surrounding it, then Moses would finish it with a well-aimed decapitation.

It had gotten to the point that the chevalier leading the ambush, James Ironside, had decided it necessary that he step in, remarking casually that it seemed no amount of conditioning or innate ability could replace actual experience. The Schiff didn't give him a chance to attack first, instead opting for a quick finish by surrounding him before rushing in together to slam him with their weapons from every direction. Their attacks landed with enough force to form a crater underneath James and for a moment it looked like the fight was over. However, as the dust cleared it became obvious that was not so. James had transformed into his chiropteran form, his thick armor absorbing the blows with little but cracks in it as damage.

He had sprung up with enough force to send every Schiff flying. Physically the strongest, Darth had attempted to grapple James only to find himself overpowered with relative ease and thrown across the warehouse they were fighting in.

It was only then that the Schiff realized that the Corpse Corps had taken the opportunity to regroup and place themselves in strategic positions to attack from. With but a word James called for them to strike.

Darth had gone out protecting an injured Lulu, while Gudrif had taken a blow meant for Karman, facts that made it all the harder to deal with for the proud warriors. They were free of the Thorn, and in the belief they now had long, bright futures ahead of them they had allowed themselves to open up to each other and bond as they never had before. They had never experienced such happiness. Yet this made the pain of losing them so much greater than it had been back when they had lived every day accepting that death could claim them at any time.

Indeed, Moses and Karman had been driven into a mad rage at the sight of their comrade's deaths and had proceeded to kill the Corpse Corps that stood between them and James. James had seemed eager to continue, but upon sensing Saya's approach he decided it was better to withdraw with the surviving Corpse Corps. He claimed this attack had merely been a test of the Corpse Corps' potential, and coldly promised that next time he would be prepared to take out the Schiff, Saya, and Red Shield.

Though she had not been all that close to Darth or Gudrif, Saya still shared in the sadness, but more than that she was troubled. For now it seemed she would have to contend with a squad of chiropterans that were harder to fight than the bestial artificial chiropterans she had become used to. And she did not have long to wait before confronting them.

-- _Time skip_

He had not expected it to hurt so much, had thought that he had gained control over such weak feelings of regret and sadness. Yet, he had been lying to himself. Despite all the terrible crimes he had played a part in, all the lives he had helped destroy, all the death and horrors he had desensitized himself to, the pain was still there.

Solomon had been sent by Amshel to insure that Karl's latest attempt on Saya's life would be his last. His brother had reasoned that Karl could not be allowed to kill Saya as afterward there would be nothing left for him and thus he would become an even greater liability than he already was. Solomon had gone fully expecting to play a role in the insane chevalier's death and had arrived to find Karl restraining Saya from behind her, declaring that he would drain her until she was dead and then die himself from her blood.

Yet he had not been needed it seemed as, in a burst of strength only a true chiropteran queen was capable of, Saya broke free from his grip enough to reverse her blade. She then stabbed herself straight through her stomach and into Karl's body. Karl was caught by complete surprise and could only speak her name helplessly as he crystallized. With a brief pained scream she pulled the sword out and collapsed to her knees, waiting for her body to heal. Solomon sighed as he wished she'd given him a chance to help her pull it out less roughly.

His sigh caught Saya's attention just as the Corpse Corps that had survived fighting Saya's group arrived, Haji and the others in pursuit, and prepared to renew the battle. However, before they could, Solomon spoke up in a commanding tone. "All of you will return home immediately," he ordered as he looked at the remaining Corpse Corps, who silently obeyed.

Saya gaped in surprise at her enemy's actions as the others eyed him warily and Haji helped her stand up. "Solomon? What-"

"Karl did not become a chevalier by choice," Solomon interrupted her, "it was forced upon him and he tried to make do while being rejected by the very ones who chose him. To my brother he was only an experiment to see how Diva's blood would effect a man from his race. I know you must despise him for the things he did to you, but to him you were everything Saya."

Saya tried to reply only to have Solomon interrupt again. "Please, let me finish," he requested politely, "in return for hearing me out, I will tell you this: in one week Diva will be on Christina Island. What you do with that information, whether you believe me or not, is up to you."

The others gathered around Saya as Solomon continued to speak. "As for Karl, after becoming her chevalier he was smitten by Diva and tried very hard to gain her love, not understanding that Diva would not and could not ever do that. This rejection and the ensuing decades of isolation he subjected himself to drove Karl completely mad. He came to see you, Saya, as a kindred spirit, another who was isolated from the world and part of a battle you did not wish to partake in. To die together with you became his fondest wish and his greatest obsession."

Solomon's expression saddened further. "How I wish… how I wish he would have realized that I was there for him the whole time… that I wanted to help him… as poor a substitute as my friendship might have been compared to what he sought with Diva and you. Instead, I was sent only to watch him and ensure that he died."

Saya wasn't sure of what to say. It was a great deal easier to think of Diva's chevaliers as monsters rather than people with real feelings. Considering this, she moved to a question rather than a reply. "If you weren't going to help Karl, then why did you reveal yourself? Why did you call off the Corpse Corps?" Saya asked in confusion.

There was a great deal Solomon wished to say, but now was not the time. His heart was too heavy from Karl's death to attempt to voice his feelings for Saya. "Perhaps…" he managed, "I too am very lonely…" He turned away and with his incredible speed seemed to vanish.

"Solomon wait! What about Riku! Where is he? Is he alive?!" Saya cried out, wishing she had thought to ask this a few seconds earlier.

Yet Solomon was already gone, leaving only a few foreboding words echoing in the night. "I'm sorry… he belongs to Diva now…"

Pursuit was impossible, Saya couldn't hope to catch up to him with the hole in her stomach still healing and her energy sapped from the battle. Despite being much stronger than before her body was still not used to regenerating from wounds as major as this and so it took longer than it did for Haji or Diva to recover.

She hung her head but Kai could only ball his fists. "'Belongs to Diva?!'" he quoted angrily. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"If nothing else it gives us reason to believe he is still alive," David offered.

Saya admitted that at least was true, but it didn't allay her worries much. In some ways knowing just a little bit was worse than knowing nothing at all. When she had hoped to surprise Diva while she practiced at a theater she had instead been the one ambushed, by James Ironside. Diva had been in the room when she first arrived but Saya couldn't get close to her and James refused to answer her questions about Riku. Not that she had opportunity to ask very much. James was a formidable opponent and even with Kai and Haji's help it looked like the fight could drag on for a while before a victor would be decided. It was then that the other, rather strange, chevalier named Nathan had moved between them. He noted that during the fight Saya had moved off the stage and that he could no longer allow James to continue. According to him it seemed she had to die on the appropriate stage, one he would prepare.

Saya was not at all sure if he was being literal or metaphorical or perhaps both. What she was sure about was that this chevalier seemed to be of a higher rank and greater power than Karl and James as he cowed the armored chevalier with a threat of death if he continued to argue against his decision. The two had then left, Saya too stunned to ask anything.

As for Karl, her requests about Riku to him had been largely ignored as well. According to Karl "that brat" was not worth the concern of either him or her. And now even Solomon, who was reasonable enough to answer questions, had come and gone while revealing little. The frustration was almost enough to make her want to drive her sword through her stomach again.

-- _time skip_

For Kai it had been an odd question to hear from the attractive young lady. Mao had met him on a staircase during one of the lulls between their missions and assignments, and then sprang this serious query. "What do you mean by 'why am I here?' You've never needed any reasons I could give you. You came because you wanted to didn't you?"

Mao shook her head, her expression a bit bitter. "I went to pursue you Kai. And now… now it seems like its amounted to nothing and I have no reason to be here. What have I done for you or Saya? What can I possibly do?"

"This isn't like you. I mean you've traveled all over the world looking for us Mao, and you've been helping Red Shield for over a year. That's more than what most people would or could do."

"Yeah, I'm some big hero," she remarked with air of sarcasm. "I only did that on some whim because I wanted to find you and get away from my life with the yakuza, everything else just sort of happened. The fact is Red Shield doesn't need me here, and you need me even less. For that matter you need her here a lot more than you ever needed me."

Kai looked a bit puzzled. "Who? Irene, or Saya?"

"Both!" Mao snapped, raising her voice angrily as she released her pent-up emotions. This talk had been a long time coming. "Why is it they get all your attention! Why do you feel nothing for me?!"

For a time Kai was silent as he pondered his response. When he at last spoke it was with a tenderness that Mao found erased all the anger she had just brought up. "I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings Mao, I really am. It just wouldn't work. That's why I've always tried so hard not to encourage you. Frankly I had expected you to start hating me ages ago, but you just kept coming."

He sighed. "And what you asked about… I want to protect Saya Mao. Even with this chevalier body I don't know how much I can do, but I know I can do something and that I would try even if I was still a normal human. As for Irene… it's complicated, but we need each other in this."

Mao frowned and crossed her arms. If he was going to be so damned noble about all this and give such a sweet apology she would at least straighten out his feelings for the chiropteran girl. "Complicated? It's obvious you two are in love with each other!"

Kai's eyes widened in surprise. "What? You… you really think so?" he asked in a hopeful tone.

Mao had regained her superior demeanor and spoke in her typical, knowing way. "Like I said, it's obvious. She completely adores you, and you treat her more sweetly than I've seen you treat any other girl, even Saya."

Kai seemed to be a bit in his own world now, talking to himself as much as to her. "I guess… I guess you're right. I knew I liked her… and I wanted to love her… it's just I've never been serious with a girl before so I wasn't sure how to know if I…" he looked up, at last noticing how rude he was being. "That is- uh! Mao it's not like there's anything wrong with you-"

"Don't bother to sugarcoat it Kai," she interrupted, "just answer me honestly. Why her? Is it because you saved her, because she's a chiropteran?"

He looked down for a moment. "I'd be lying if I said those things had nothing to do with it, but its more than that Mao. Irene inspires me… she's special. I've never known anyone who just clicked with me like that. She's gone through things I can't imagine, yet she's stayed strong and somehow kept a kind heart. She has a lot of the things I admire in Saya…"

"Maybe its selfish…" he continued. "I hate to think she is just some replacement for Saya to me. But regardless I've made my choice, and I know that even if I had the chance I couldn't ever feel for Saya the things I feel for Irene, not after spending this past year with her, and I know Saya couldn't return those feelings anyway."

Mao sighed, a small smile on her lips even as a few tears formed in her eyes and she turned away. "I assumed as much. Honestly it doesn't hurt as much as it might have. I'd already kind of accepted it for a while now, talked about it with Irene and everything. I just wanted to hear it from you personally too."

Kai took her hand to make her look at him again. "But you are needed Mao. Or have you forgotten all the work you've done gathering information for the rest of us? You and Okamura make for quite a team, and since you're not officially a part of Red Shield and you're not chiropterans you're in a position to do things we can't and go places where we'd be recognized."

Mao blushed slightly. "You're still exaggerating, but I'll take it."

Kai grinned, "good. I guess you're not as stubborn as I thought you were."

Mao gave him a light bop on the head. "You're the one who's stubborn. Slow too. Sometimes I wonder what I saw in you."

Kai laughed a bit in agreement at the playful remark but became silent as Mao sat down on the stairs. She appeared tired, at least emotionally. She looked up at him, seeming much smaller and weaker than before. "Can we just sit like this for a while Kai?"

"Sure," he replied as warmly as he could, "I'd like that."

--

**Notes:**

Well this chapter isn't as good as the others despite how long it took to write. That's mostly because it was just bits of various episodes showing scenes where I altered events from the series. As such the narrative is a bit disjointed, though hopefully most readers should know the plot well enough to fill in any gaps. Hope no one minds me keeping the deaths of Darth and Gudrif. Character do need to die in the story to maintain the sense of loss and seriousness of it all, and frankly so little is known of Darth and Gudrif as characters that I couldn't keep them around without making up a bunch of stuff about them.

From the start of my writing this fic I had much of the beginning and end already worked out and knew the middle would be the hardest part to write. But it seems I'm getting through it slowly but surely. At least the rewritten fight scenes should be fun for readers who like action. I found Saya's return in the series to end up a bit underwhelming considering she had done more impressive feats in battle early in the series. Thus I enjoyed being able to amp up her strength closer to what makes sense for a vampire queen while still maintaining the weakness she is experiencing due to her dormant period getting nearer.

As always feel free to email me any questions, complaints or criticisms that you don't want to put in a review. I can't promise it will make me write faster or change anything in the story but I can promise I'll consider them.

On the note of edits, I have gone back through the previous chapters and made certain changes. Namely I've altered and added to a few scenes, mostly in chapter 3, and changed the spelling of Luis' name to "Lewis" as its more official and provides a nice parallel to the "Luis" in the original Blood movie. I've also fixed the mix up I had made regarding the names of Darth and Gudrif (I had called Gudrif Darth and Darth Gudrif).


	5. Chapter 5: Paved With Good Intentions

Sympathy for the Diva Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue

We're past the halfway point with this story now as far as chapters are concerned. Time to start setting up for the epic climax. Fair warning to those who find me long-winded at times, I have Julia's thesis on chiropteran's extended quite a bit compared to the anime version.

--

Part 5: Paved With Good Intentions

--

It was odd, Riku thought to himself, that he could be in another country, on another continent for that matter, and feel as if little had changed. For him his days were much the same. Play with Diva, satisfy Diva, read and study while she was away, worry about his family, and cuddle with Diva at night. Coming to the United States hadn't really changed any of that.

There was a sense of foreboding though, he couldn't deny that. He still didn't know just what the concert Diva was preparing for was really about, and even if he found out he doubted he could do anything about it. In turn his chances of saving Diva from herself seemed to become less likely every passing day.

This time though, the day would not go quite like he expected. He looked up at the sound of a brief knock at the door, which surprised him as he had not sensed Diva approaching, not to mention Diva never knocked. Before Riku could consider how best to reply the door proceeded to open. The identity of the man who was revealed, however, left Riku briefly speechless. Of all who might come visit him, Amshel was certainly not one he would expect. He had basically ignored him until now.

"I trust your quarters are comfortable," the lead chevalier stated more than asked. Riku got the impression that the remark was merely a formality and that the intimidating man was not at all interested in how comfortable he was. Even so he nodded in reply.

Amshell noted the response with his own brief nod before he somehow grew even more serious in appearance. "You have spent a good deal of time among us, so I feel it is about time that I speak with you frankly regarding some matters that you should be aware of. I had thought for a good while that you were simply a indulgence that she would grow tired of, but as she has yet to it has come to this."

"W-wha-" Riku struggled not to let how intimidated he was show through in his voice, but to no avail, "what do you mean?"

Amshel looked down on Riku, literally and figuratively. "It is obvious that Diva has taken quite a liking to you, and through you she is achieving her greatest wish. For that you have my sincere thanks." Riku thought he somehow didn't look very thankful.

"However," he continued in a tone that was not to be ignored, "I think it is time I made sure you understand your situation here. I suspect that after all that has happened, and despite your forced abduction from Saya, that you have felt yourself growing increasingly attached to Diva."

Riku nodded ever so slightly. He didn't really want Amshel to know about those feelings but they had confused him so much that now that it was out in the open he was willing to hear anything the man had to say about them.

"You may even believe that she has fallen in love with you and that you have fallen in love with her," Amshell continued, now sounding almost as if he pitied Riku. "The reason of course is that your affection and desire for her is a product of your chevalier blood. She chose you as the one she would mate with and sire offspring through and your blood revels in accomplishing this purpose. All chevalier are subject to those feelings, toward both their queen and her sister to varying degrees and for varying purposes."

Riku felt the urge to blush over the topic. It seemed that Diva had at some point let Amshel know about her suspected pregnancy.

"To serve Diva's desires, to give her pleasure and happiness, that is the highest calling anyone can accomplish. To do such and to live for her is our greatest joy as chevalier and as the one of Saya's whom she chose, you now share in that joy." His tone darkened. "Yet do not allow yourself to be naïve enough to fall under false assumptions and delusions concerning your position here. You will only be disappointed."

"The fact is you are not irreplaceable to Diva. No one and nothing is irreplaceable here aside from Diva herself. Because of this do not venture to think you can gain Diva's love. Diva is capable only of loving herself and living for herself, that is all that she understands and desires. It is what we live for as well, to accomplish her will. If we seek more, even at the behest of our blood, there will be consequences," his voice now sounded rather ominous, even threatening.

"You know of Karl do you not? As her chevalier he once sought love from Diva, only to face the harsh truth that he would never receive it. He then turned his desires to their one other target, Saya, to an unhealthy degree I might add. His unchecked desire for Diva and then Saya drove him completely mad and was ultimately the end of him. Regrettably, it would seem that now my brother Solomon is falling prey to the desire for Saya in his blood as well," he said the latter in a disgusted tone, as though to himself.

He focused on Riku again. "As chevalier we should devote our existences to one queen above all else. Should those desires conflict we are to kill the lesser ones, even if one is the desire for the sister queen. Given you are Saya's chevalier your first alliance should be to her. If you waver in that then it means you are subject to your bloods' whims as much as my weaker brother is. It is thus my view that even if you pledge yourself to Diva, even if I never see you waver in loyalty, I will never be able to trust you. In any event our roles as chevalier have nothing to do with any selfish desire to gain love from our queen. To give her all she desires and protect her are the only expressions of love we are permitted."

Riku had a hard time believing all of this. He wasn't sure if Haji and Saya loved each other like lovers but he was sure that Saya loved Haji as a friend if not more and that Haji saw Saya as more than just his queen. Maybe this was how Amshell thought Diva should be treated but that didn't make it true. He frowned at the man. "You sound kind of like a dad, but I was taught that if a parent gives their kids everything they want they end up spoiled and selfish and it only hurts them in the end."

"Are you implying that I am hurting Diva?" his tone was eerily calm.

_I'm implying that you aren't as selfless as you make yourself out to be,_ was what Riku wanted to say, but he was smart enough to only think it. His only visible answer to Amshel was a glare.

Amshel closed his eyes and sighed. "It does not matter. I merely am advising you to not act outside your role and cloud Diva's mind with your personal desires. She cannot afford to be distracted or for her will to waver in these crucial times. Follow that advice, and I can guarantee you a good future. However, should you now follow my words, consequences may well occur-"

"Amshel?"

Amshel turned and Riku's eyes widened. They had been so focused on each other that they hadn't noticed that Diva was approaching. She was now in the doorway, her expression oddly amused.

She strode over to stand between them and proceeded to wrap her arms around Riku before looking back at Amshel. "Did you need me for something?"

"No, no my dear," he bowed. "I was just leaving actually. But Riku, you and I should speak again at some point, should you be available."

By now Diva was holding Riku possessively to her chest and using her fingers to play with his hair. She didn't even bother to look back at Amshel now. "Not likely," she remarked sweetly. "All of Riku's time is reserved for me. You should just run along now and do those boring things you're always doing."

Amshel's expression didn't falter in the least. He merely bowed again. "Then I shall take my leave."

Once Amshell was gone Diva's expression darkened slightly. "So annoying, thinking he can come here and do as he pleases," she said in an annoyed tone. She cupped Riku's face in her hands. "He didn't do anything to you, did he Riku?"

"Oh, uh, no," the boy replied unevenly, already getting caught up in the spell her eyes seemed to cast.

"Good!" Diva beamed him a bright smile and quick kiss before her expression turned more alluring. "Well I think I'll go relax in a nice _hot_ bath. That meanie Nathan had me working so hard again on my voice, I think it's about time I felt something… _nicer_…" she finished with a suggestive tone as she walked away.

Riku was left to his thoughts, his mind so occupied that he had missed Diva's not so subtle verbal and mental cues. He knew many of Amshel's words were at least partially true. And yet, if Diva really did only understand loving herself, and desired to only love herself, then why did she want a family so badly? She already had a group of servants who doted on her every whim, but she had claimed they were not really family to her and that he was closer to that. That meant she wanted people who would not see her only as a master or adore her only for her blood. Plus she wanted to raise her children in a manner different from how she had been raised. Surely there was something in all that that wasn't about just loving herself.

He knew he would need to test her and his own feelings if he was ever to get anywhere. When the opportunity came he would have to risk everything to try to reach her, with no guarantee of success. The question was what would he say.

"_Riku…_" came Diva's sultry voice from the bathroom, snapping Riku out of his inner dialogue. "You _are _going to join me… _aren't_ you?" she finished in a tone that made him envision her pouting.

Riku at this point became unable to any longer ignore the pheromones wafting from Diva's location, and he could feel his thoughts starting to cloud with desire.

He soon gave in and headed for the bath. Worrying about the future would just have to wait for now…

-- _time skip_

It was disconcerting to say the least for Julia to observe them. In the other room there appeared to be two Rikus, one male, one female, the latter in actuality being Diva. As professional as she prided herself on being she was still not used to the revelation that the boy had been living with Diva all of this time. In comparison she thought Riku had taken finding out she was working with the enemy surprisingly well. She had felt the need to explain herself once she had managed to get him briefly alone, though she knew not what to say. Riku had simply assured her that he trusted she had her reasons and was happy to be able to see someone he knew from before Diva took him. He always was mature for his age and quite adaptable to new situations and both of those qualities seemed to have grown considerably even while his body had remained about the same. Julia regretted not knowing the answers to his questions about his family and Red Shield, only being able to confirm that David and Joel were still alive.

She had just finished their extensive physicals and the compiled results of her scans and samples had been, in short, mind blowing. Many of the tests, particularly on Riku, had some time to finish and get results for but now Amshel was here and wanted a full accounting of what she had found out.

"She is pregnant with twin girls," she stated, "just as her mother in Joel's diary. It seems at least some of the theories on chevalier were right."

Amshel nodded. "Splendid indeed. Diva has tried many times to become pregnant through her own chevalier as well as normal humans, all to no avail. I had long suspected a chevalier of Saya was the key to her fertility. However, chevalier from her sister numbered only one until recently, and Diva had no interest in him."

"There is more though," she added, "on the tests I ran on Riku, it's truly unprecedented."

Amshel raised an eyebrow. "What of the boy?"

Julia took a moment to consider her words before continuing. "It sounds impossible, but samples from his body and blood tests show that Diva's blood no longer has the effect on Riku that it did before. Or rather, the effect is the same but he has acquired some kind of defense. In the samples I took of his blood I found it to contain formerly unknown elements that I still can't truly identify. I hypothesize that they are produced by his body and then spread in his blood to counteract the crystallizing effect of Diva's blood."

She proceeded to demonstrate with two droppers of blood and a small dish where she combined them, the blood mirroring her description as she spoke. "When I introduce Diva's blood to Riku's the crystallizing fails to occur. Looking at it under a microscope reveals that the unidentified elements in Riku's blood have surrounded Diva's blood cells and somehow created a buffering effect so that they do not cause the violent chain reaction that results in crystallization of the body. Presumably this development is designed to protect him in his new role for her."

"New role? What are you implying by that?" he inquired.

"I'm saying that he's no longer Saya's chevalier, at least not like he was. He's become something new, something we've never encountered before."

"And how could this have happened?"

"Well am I correct in assuming she has been… uh," she tried her best to hide her unease on the subject, "copulating with him on a regular basis?" She tried not to cast any judgement on what was going on but couldn't help but express some disgust at the idea of the spoiled and unstable queen forcing herself on such a sweet boy.

"Yes, Diva has become extremely fond of him," Amshel replied with barely veiled distaste of his own.

"Well," she continued, hoping she wasn't blushing, "many fluids can be exchanged during intercourse. It would seem that due to this Riku and Diva have swapped so much DNA that over time the exposure has enabled his body to create this defense system. Alternatively his body could have possessed this ability the whole time and merely needed the stimulation of multiple matings with Diva to 'switch' it on. No chevalier in the past that we know of has ever had a relationship like this with the sister queen, due of course to the war between the sisters. It may well be that for their kind this transformation into a mate was normal and we simply have never had the chance to observe it before."

"And what of transferring this type of immunity?" Amshel voiced, the idea intriguing him. "Would it be possible to render Diva's chevalier immune to Saya's blood with it?"

"I don't see how," she proceeded to put another drop of Diva's blood on Riku's blood sample and it promptly crystallized. "There's a finite amount of this substance in any sample of his blood. Indeed, its actually an inadequate amount to counter Diva's blood unless the amount introduced is very small. It would appear that this ever-present part of the defense is made merely to keep him from being harmed for the short time needed for his body to respond by making far more of the unknown element.

"But without his body to make it once that initial defense has been used up the blood becomes as toxic to him as ever and if not used I doubt the elements can exist for long before falling apart on their own. Basically the defense is useless without Riku's body prepared to add to the supply. Since I have yet to even understand what this substance he is producing is, I can't imagine synthesizing it."

"However, there is more to it than just his blood. Samples of his saliva and biopsies show higher concentrations of these unknown elements than in his blood, suggesting that it is produced by glands in his mouth, the lining of his esophagus, stomach and perhaps the rest of his digestive system, spreading to his blood from there. Indeed, there is so much of it there that he would be able to consume Diva's blood without any ill effect. Given that feeding on each other's blood serves a function in social bonding between queens and their chevalier, could it be that this substance is a adaptation to facilitate mutual feeding between a queen and her mate?" she seemed to ask herself, her mind wandering.

"This theory is supported by the fact that his immunity comes at a cost. I am not sure how it is done yet, but the activation of this buffering system corresponds to the deactivation of his ability to regenerate for the duration of the time his body is dealing with her blood. This time is not long but still a vulnerability. For without his regenerative powers any injury that would kill a normal human would kill him as well." She did not like disclosing this weakness of the boy but knew Amshel would have asked her if she hadn't and that he had an uncanny knack for seeing through the smallest deception.

"It is all logical to some degree if you consider the role chevalier play in balancing power between two queens. It wouldn't make sense for one chevalier to become essentially invincible and so while he is unharmed directly by Diva's blood, it also makes him vulnerable to her blood by taking his healing abilities away."

She took a breath to again collect her thoughts. "Also, Diva's test results indicate that despite her libido not diminishing, her actual ability to reproduce has ended, effectively sterilizing her. This goes beyond how the body normally shuts down reproductive abilities while pregnant and in a way it makes sense that this would occur. After all, a species as long-lived as chiropterans would not want to produce many young due to risks of overpopulation. If each queen managed to have just two daughters in a lifetime then it would be more than enough to maintain the species. It could also be that after first becoming pregnant her body turns off its reproductive abilities until after the thirty year sleep is completed, but there is no data to support such a notion. Indeed, I have yet to understand why precisely the dormant period occurs."

"Then what of her desire for the boy?" Amshel began. "If he has given her children then why does she still wish to devote her body to him so much?

Julia paused for a moment at the new line of questioning. "Her libido has probably remained so high either due to it being genetic or psychological, or some combination. More than that it seems to serve a purpose even if she is no longer fertile, in that it helps maintain her pair bond with her chosen chevalier."

"Pair bond?" Amshel questioned. "Just how is this different from any other chevalier and their queen?"

"Several ways actually. In addition to what I mentioned earlier, Diva and Riku's bodies seem to have adapted to encourage they stay together and stabilize each other. Both of their bodies can produce something like a pheromone when they are near each other. This pheromone stimulates the production of endorphins and directly effects the pleasure centers of their brains. And it is not merely sexual desire. In particular Riku's pheromones seem to have a calming, pacifying effect on Diva if she becomes overly agitated. That is not to say they control each other with these chemicals, but the influence is definitely there and combined with physical intimacy makes their pair bond very strong."

"I still understand very little of the mechanisms behind all this. I could study it my entire life and not find all the answers. Even so, over time, using the information I've gathered on Saya and Diva's behavior, the behavior that does not seem to have been influenced by Joel's treatment of them that is, I've been able to form a hypothesis about just what the chiropteran species is."

"Really," Amshel remarked, "I am curious to hear just how you might summarize that. Do continue."

Julia nodded, it was easy enough to talk about her research even when around someone who so unnerved her. "To begin with I can't speculate much on their origin. They are very similar to humans but it's hard to see how they could have evolved naturally from us or any other known species. I might think they were all the results of scientific experiments gone wrong were it not for how long ago their mother apparently lived."

"Regardless, it can be said that to the best of our knowledge all natural born chiropterans are female twins. These sisters form the basis of the chiropteran society and are the two leading individuals known as queens. These queens grow as humans do for a number of years but cease aging physically in their mid teens. After this also begins their poorly understood periods of dormancy, wherein they lie inside cocoons for decades at a time, normally around thirty years in all. I personally wonder if this is some way of extending their life span, although chevalier remaining awake would appear to disprove that.

"Continuing on, these sister queens can feed on most human foods, though if they feed only on that they will be weaker and suffer anemia. If they receive no blood at all they can risk dying through injuries they could normally survive, but it is not known if lack of blood alone can kill them." She recalled when she heard how Kai, David and Lewis had discovered an artificial chiropteran imprisoned deep under a warehouse in Russia. The creature had apparently been kept there for many years and had become emaciated and weak, yet had survived and regained its strength quickly after taking in only a relatively small amount of blood.

"They also consume more human food than their size would indicate, apparently due to their higher metabolism. Of greater interest though is the desire and capacity to subsist on blood, preferably human blood. Through processes we don't currently understand fully, chiropterans can use this blood to fuel incredible superhuman abilities. Unbelievable strength, speed, enhanced vision, almost limitless regenerative powers and even the ability to morph their physical appearance. In addition they gain a second form far more powerful and less human in appearance. The queens appear to lack this form, despite seeming to be capable of being more powerful than any chevalier.

"On that note there is one ability unique to chiropteran queens, and that is the ability to create chevalier. As natural born chiropterans are all female, they have evolved a method of adapting human males to serve their needs for reproduction and protection. However, although human females can also presumably be changed into chevalier it seems to rarely, if ever, be done, at least for the sisters we know of. To create a chevalier the queen simply transfers some of her own blood into the human she has deemed worthy of receiving it. Her blood then aggressively interacts with the human's body, taking it over and transforming it. The human retains his or her memories and personality, as well as their physical appearance. However they gain incredible new abilities that make them technically no longer human. It should also be noted that the experiments conducted by your group do not transform humans in the same way, and result in the monstrosities referred to as 'mice.'"

"As for the chevalier, they appear to play an important role in regulating the two queens power, as do the queen's themselves. The queens are mutually dependant on one another for the survival of their respective genes and at the same time are the greatest threat to each other. One sister's blood is lethal to the other sister's and to her chevaliers and vice versa. At the same time, however, each queen can only be impregnated by a chevalier of the sister queen. Thus they are encouraged from a biological standpoint to depend upon one another, at least usually.

"For in addition to their new abilities, the transformed blood of the chevalier imbues them with an intense devotion and affection for the queen who turned them, even a sexual attraction. At the same time they may feel a strong sexual attraction to the sister queen. The queens themselves it seems are free to choose lovers among the chevalier as they please, selecting one or perhaps more that appeal to them most and rejecting all others. On the other hand chevalier clearly have some control over those urges and can even outright reject them. There is no simple way of describing it."

"Just how new queens come to power and how they interact with old queens I've failed to theorize on. Nor is it known if queens and their chevaliers actually can live indefinitely or if they can eventually die of natural causes. Clearly Saya and Diva's mother died of something and yet her body was not crystallized. We also don't understand the purpose of the thirty year hibernation period followed by three or so years of activity, or if it stops at some point. It may be to help keep them fertile over great lengths of time. A relation of some sort to fertility does seem most likely given they did not enter into these dormant states until after reaching puberty. On the other hand, if that is not true or not the whole truth then it could be to keep too many queens from being active at any one time and thus reduce competition for space and food."

"It's difficult to form a hypothesis given the current situation we have has skewed what information can be gathered. Obviously things did not go as they were supposed to with the current sister queens and the balance was horribly twisted. Not only were they isolated from one another but they were raised so differently that they ended up as opposites rather than counterparts. Saya spent her early life raised exclusively a spoiled human while Diva was treated as less than an animal, isolated and given only the very lowest amount of care needed for her to survive. This doubtless damaged her mind and warped her thinking and she came to despise not only Joel but her sister for having the life she didn't. In turn Saya hates Diva for, among other things, destroying her fantasy of being a ordinary human and taking away her ideal, predictable life."

"As a result this war began between the sisters and has continued to this day. Saya rejects her chiropteran heritage and clings to her human aspects while Diva rejects her human side to a similar degree and indulges in violence to sate the emptiness her upbringing created within her. This has resulted in Diva becoming a good deal more powerful than Saya, when the sister's should be more or less equal in strength and balance each other out. What's more Saya does not allow herself to deal with issues like reproducing and Diva has enough of an edge in ability to simply take what she wants from Saya to reproduce without anything up."

Amshel smiled slightly, seeming both amused and interested. "I cannot say just how true all your theories are doctor but I do appreciate hearing them. I am especially impressed in how you so quickly adapted the theories in your research papers to the information you gained from these tests. Your mind is sharper than most."

--

Across the glass wall Riku jumped in surprise upon feeling Diva's breath on his neck. "You were spacing out for a while there," she whispered in his ear, her arms wrapping around him from the back. "You can hear them, can't you," she remarked, indicating to Julia and Amshel.

Riku nodded and tried to keep himself from getting too excited. Now was not the time for this. It didn't help that he could feel Diva had transformed back into her more shapely true form, her curves pressing against him and her lips mind-numbingly soft as she gave his ear a nibble. He also knew from personal experience that Diva was far from shy about showing her affection in front of others. Indeed, unless she wanted something she tended to disregard the presence of other people.

Luckily Diva seemed to be more curious than amorous for once and she let him go just before Riku would have had to release the moan he was holding in. She gave a contemplative "hmm" then continued speaking. "Makes sense that you could. Amshel soundproofed these rooms to my ears and the ears of my chevalier, but he wouldn't have known how to soundproof it against a creature as different as one of my sister's chevalier. So, what are they saying?"

"Well… you were right, you are pregnant," Riku said, feeling very awkward. "And with two girls, which seems to be what all chiropteran mothers have."

He blushed as she let out a happy squeal and hugged his face in her chest. As sure as she had been of it she was still pleased to have her pregnancy confirmed. "What else?" she asked excitedly as she released him.

"Um, well it seems that your blood isn't poisonous to me any more. I mean, it is still poisonous but they said my body has changed from being with you." He paused, wondering about mentioning the other part, but knew he was awful at lies and could never get Diva to fall for them. The way her eyes were boring into him now confirmed she knew he was leaving something out so he decided to just tell it all. "Because of that they said I could drink your blood without even getting sick and that to kill me your blood would have to be in me at the same time I got a bad injury like a pierced lung. Basically, your blood turns off my ability to heal for a little while instead of making me crystallize."

Diva's smile grew brighter but less innocent, "now _that_ is some very nice news. I'll have to give you a taste when we get back to our room…"

Riku gulped, conflicted again between trepidation and expectation, made worse/better with the knowledge that once things got started he wouldn't refuse her. His thoughts also drifted to other things he had overheard Julia say, many of which had given him a clearer understanding of what he was now. Moreover, it had suddenly become so much more real to him, the fact that he was going to be a father.

--

Back in the other room Julia could no longer maintain her cool demeanor. Not with the way Amshel had begun to speak of the distant past in such a familiar tone.

"I still remember the day I first laid eyes on her mother," he remarked, nostalgic. "The thrill of seeing this incredible form of life that I knew nothing about. The opportunity to discover something that would change the world. Of course, that was a long time ago."

Julia's eyes widened in shock and fear. As Amshel was speaking both his body and clothing had seamlessly morphed into the form of a woman she had known from Red Shield. _Lisa… _"Then you are-"

"A chiropteran," he finished, the female body and male voice thoroughly disturbing Julia.

Julia couldn't believe it. This meant Amshel had known all along that she wasn't simply a member of Red Shield but worked closely with Saya. "Weren't you at all concerned that I would try to kill Diva?"

"That was never a possibility," Amshel stated with certainty. "You are like me doctor, a scientist in pursuit of the truth. Even if the fate of the entire human race is to be supplanted and replaced by chiropterans, you will not seek to stop it but see it through to its conclusion. Otherwise, your questions will never be answered, and that is not something that people like us can accept."

Julia had no reply as she wondered just how true his assertion was. Yes she wanted to learn everything she could about chiropterans, but at the expense of the human race? She didn't think she could go that far… Regardless, there was also the fact that even if she had wanted to kill Diva herself she wasn't at all sure she possessed the means to. It was times like these when she wondered just how far deeply over her head she had gotten herself in this whole mess.

A few minutes later she was alone. Julia sighed in relief, the stress of her meeting with the chiropterans having finally gotten to her. 'Was her life always this stressful?' she wondered to herself. No… not so long ago she was surrounded with friends and though it was often dangerous, even depressing work she was glad to do it. There were all the little joys in it too, like making every effort to get David to acknowledge her fancy for him by showing off her more-than attractive figure. She never had gotten passed teasing him though and that made her feel oddly sadder than she was already.

She sat down and put a hand to her forehead, Amshel's earlier words continuing to play over and over again in her mind. Her hands tensed and she clenched her teeth angrily. 'People like us?' It was true she had chosen to work here, but only because she felt she had no other choice. Perhaps that was just an excuse though as the fact remained she was helping the enemy. But even so… even so…

"Don't label me as the same as you…"

--

"Riku…" she pulled the long tresses of her hair aside, exposing her lovely neck, which he noticed somehow looked very enticing now. "Come on, I want you to try it. I've tasted you so much, its about time you taste me. I've wanted to give you my blood ever since our first night together."

The two were back in her room, Diva sprawled out invitingly on the bed and Riku sitting nearby. Riku had been right to expect her not to forget about what he had said concerning her blood and his. Her attention span always seemed less fickle when it came to him.

Which meant he now had to confront this, and he was finding knowing her blood wouldn't kill him to be less reassuring than Diva did. What if it was all some elaborate trick and he really would die? That seemed unlikely though. After all, if Diva wanted him dead she could kill him as any time she pleased. Yet that also didn't seem to be enough to alleviate his nervousness.

However, once Diva managed to catch his eye with hers it wasn't long before she wordlessly enticed him to crawl on top of her, the boy blushing the whole time. Her trap sprung, she promptly rolled him over and pinned him to the bed with her body to keep him from escaping. With a smile that seemed to promise a host of pleasures in the near future she undid the top buttons to her night gown, further exposing her neck as well as the rest of her alluring form. Riku's heart had long since started to beat faster.

She bent to his ear and moved his face with one hand so that his lips pressed against her neck.

"Taste me, eat me up," she ordered in a breathy tone.

Riku was surprised at how strongly the urge to do just that surged within him, but managed to restrain himself. "A-are you s-sure? I mean… I don't want to hurt you…"

Diva giggled, her amusement sending pulses of pleasure that left his whole body tingling. "Just do it silly. We both know you can't hurt me and won't hurt me, my delicious little Riku… hurry up before I decide to eat you instead."

He had no choice didn't he? Plus he had to admit his chiropteran side was very curious about Diva's blood. Still, he moved hesitantly, pressing his lips against her skin and nibbling gently in what amounted more to necking than biting.

Diva laughed at the ticklish sensations. "Come on Riku," she giggled, "that's not enough, hurry up and bite me for real."

"I don't want it like that," Riku replied as he briefly stopped kissing her neck, hoping he was succeeding in making his voice sound, for lack of a better word, sexier. "Please, let me do this my way." He wanted to communicate all the tenderness he could toward her.

"Heh-" she breathed in a more aroused tone as Riku intensified his efforts, "that is- just like you… it's rude to tease a girl like this- ah!"

He could feel Diva's body shiver in pleasure and excitement, her coos and moans accompanying it. They seemed to spur him on to stronger, fiercer kissing and he started to lick her delicious skin even as Diva began to kiss his neck while undoing his clothes.

He could feel his fangs forming and lengthening, the urge for blood growing. He had only ever fed directly on a person once before, his own brother Kai, and he had only been semi-conscious at the time. This was different. Very different. His eyes flashing red he finally, slowly and softly bit down and sucked at her neck, eliciting a moan from Diva not quite like any he had heard from her before.

An instant later the taste of her blood registered as it filled his mouth and flowed down his throat, and all thought seemed to come to an end. Her taste was mind blowing, she was at once the sweetest and most satisfying thing he had ever consumed, so rich in flavor that all the other foods in the world seemed to suddenly pale in comparison. She was so good… he no longer cared if her blood killed him or not.

Riku suckled like this for some time, barely noticing when Diva lost the will to hold back and bit into his neck, the two lovers lustfully feeding as they continued their amorous writhing together.

--

Some time later the two, now very sated, chiropterans continued to lay in bed together, resting in the afterglow of their coupled feeding. Riku couldn't keep a small smile off his face, the feeling of intimacy and satisfaction was just so strong, that a part of Diva was _inside_ him now, her blood flowing with his. He understood better now why she had wanted him to feel this.

Diva meanwhile beamed at him with half-closed eyes as she lay across from him. "I like that face you make," she said in a soft voice, reaching over to caress his cheek. Riku's expression turned to a bit confused even as she continued. "That face… those funny noises… the way you touch me… I like them all… You see Riku? I told you I would help you see that I'm right. You don't need Saya, you can be happy with me. You, me, our babies… we'll be together and happy forever."

With that the chiropteran queen fell into a blissful slumber. Riku, however, was no longer on cloud nine as he considered her words. This was nice, what they had, he could admit that much. However, it was also a lie, a fantasy, one they would both wake up from soon. He needed to reach Diva before this all ended in blood and tears, and as he lay in bed that night thinking of how to do this, an idea slowly formed. It was based on a memory of one way his adoptive father had used a situation to help Saya reach out to them when her heart was closed. It had all started with that book on insects hadn't it? The situation may be different, but he believed he could make it work. It was an idea at least, one he would enact tomorrow if possible.

--

Diva was bored.

The truth was that when not practicing her singing, indulging in her hunger for blood or feeding her libido, there was precious little Diva found worthwhile doing in Nathan's large house. Lazing around in bed for hours on end got old after a while, as did ripping apart her stuffed animals. She doubted anything of interest was on TV either. Getting a pet to play with was also out of the question given that animals tended to sense that she wasn't human and regarded her with the same fear they would show toward a large predator.

Normally at times like this she'd opt for playing with Riku. There were after all so many fun things she could do to or with him and even mundane things could be made interesting if he was there to explain them or help her. Alas, Riku was at the moment ignoring her. Or at least that was how she interpreted it.

Getting up, she stepped toward the boy lying on the end of the bed and snatched the book he was reading from his hands. "Just what is so interesting about this that you can keep your eyes on it instead of me for so long?"

"It's a book on ants," Riku explained as he attempted to grab the book back, Diva enjoying the abrupt game of keep-away as she continually maneuvered to keep it just out of reach. "It's from Nathan's library, he's got books on just about anything."

"So why this book?" she asked, keeping Riku at a distance with her foot. "They're just bugs."

"I think they're interesting," Riku frowned while trying to not get flustered at the view Diva was giving him up her long skirt via the lifted leg whose foot she was currently pressing against his face. "Give it!"

"Not yet," she smirked as he tried to grab it only to end up falling off the bed. "Tell me, what is interesting about it?" she asked while casually flipping through a few pages.

Riku sighed as he climbed back up, doubting he'd ever get used to Diva's sense of fun. At least she was interested in the subject now. "Well, for starters they have queens just like chiropterans do."

Diva raised an eyebrow a bit but otherwise appeared uninterested. "Oh, I don't suppose they have chevalier and drink blood too?"

"Okay, maybe not just like chiropterans," Riku admitted. "They live in big colonies, the queen laying the eggs and the other ants helping to raise them and protect the nest. They eat all kinds of things depending on what kind of ant they are. Plus, all the other ants in the colony are sisters, daughters of the queen."

"What about the boy ants?" Diva was finding this to be a nice diversion from her routine, she was not often encouraged by Amshel to learn new things.

"Oh, the boys are just used for mating with the queens."

"Just like you!" she beamed.

Riku reddened and frowned, the comparison was not exactly flattering, especially considering male ants, having served their purpose in life, die shortly after mating. Maybe he should have gone with termites as an example, they were more equal when it came to the roles of males and females. "Well the neat thing is how they all work together with each other to survive. In some kinds a bunch of queens will even share land to make a really gigantic nest. It's like the biggest family in the world and they all work together in harmony. I know we can't be just like ants, but don't you think things would be better if our family didn't fight with each other?"

"Family… sisters who work together…" Diva seemed to mull these words over in her head for a time only for her expression to harden to a caustic glare. Riku had no time to react as in the next instant she struck him hard and knocked him to the ground before crawling on top of him and holding him down. Riku for once met her maddened gaze with his own calm intensity, the ache in his jaw from her punch fading as he healed. At least she had seemed to hold back, or her strike would have done a lot more damage to him.

"Do you think I'm stupid? I know what this is about," she said with deadly seriousness. "You're thinking about _her _again, about _them_! Why can't you just forget about them? I'm your family now! I'm am all you need, their blood shouldn't matter to you!"

Riku remained calm, having learned by now this was the best way to react to Diva's fits. He had indeed been trying to give her another point of view on Saya, though he hadn't expected her reaction to be quite this violent. Something more was bothering her, she seemed most upset that he thought about his siblings at all. To get to the heart of the matter he knew he needed to be truthful but careful with his words.

"It was never about blood," he replied softly. "Me, Kai, Saya, we were all adopted. Dad worked really hard to help us understand each other and together we became a family, even if it was only for a little while. I might be Saya's chevalier but I'm her brother first, just like I'm still Kai's brother even if he's your chevalier now. That's what they'll always be to me."

Diva's grip on his wrists tightened painfully at his words. _No! Riku should only think about me, I want him to only think about me!_ She raged in her thoughts, her words leading to a question she both wanted and did not want answered. "And me?" she implored, "what am I to you?"

Riku knew he could answer that question in many ways and the answer would still be true. Diva was the mentally unbalanced blood sibling of his adopted sister, she was his captor, his lover, and a great threat to Saya. Such details seemed to lose meaning somehow, as after all he was still not entirely sure of everything Diva was to him. So he gave the best answer he could.

"You're Diva…" he trailed off, staring up at her, his soft eyes seeming to calm the queen's nerves, her grip on him loosening. "You're… special to me… important to me. I care about you Diva, I don't want you to be left all alone again. If I didn't feel that way for you, I'd probably have gone insane by this point. I don't know if I can explain it any better than that right now."

She looked away and got off of him before sitting cross-legged and appearing to pout a bit. "But I'm not important or special enough for you to forget your old life, is that it?" _Why I am not enough?_

Riku touched her shoulder and turned her to face him better as he moved closer. He wanted to see her eyes, to know his message was getting through and not simply being ignored. "How could I forget them Diva? Life doesn't work that way."

"It has for my chevalier," she replied with no emotion.

"Has it?" he asked in a skeptical tone. "Would you even care enough to notice if it hadn't?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she shot back, her anger rising again.

"You've said yourself that your chevalier don't matter very much to you. Did you ever even notice how much you made Karl suffer, or how lonely Solomon was? Even if you act like the past didn't happen, like they didn't ever exist as anything but your chevalier, it doesn't change the fact that it did happen. A person's past is a part of them, that's true for everyone including you."

"Me?" she asked, growing angrier.

"You most of all," he stated with conviction. "You want someone to blame for your past so you blame Saya. You hurt others because someone hurt you, and you want to control other people like they're your toys because someone once treated you like you were their toy."

The air was shattered by the sound of Diva's fist crashing into Riku's face again, harder this time.

He got up on his hands and knees and spat blood, glaring back at her, his anger overcoming his fear. "And hitting me won't change what happened back then anymore than it will change what's happening now, anymore than it will change the fact that you're still being used like an experiment, that you're still being controlled!"

"Controlled?" she repeated caustically. "The only one trying to tell me what to do right now is you Riku." She grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him off his feet. "So I'll hit you as much as I want, since it seems you need to be disciplined."

His glare turned soft again. "Do you really think that way solves anything or makes anything better? All you'll be doing is hurting someone again." Riku held back the fear he now felt growing in the pit of his stomach. Being the object of Diva's destructive rage was not what he wanted.

Diva didn't answer at first, but then sighed as she threw Riku to the floor and looked down on him. "As I told Solomon when he left me for her, I really would like to live with Saya, but I would like even more to kill her. Besides which, you have me now. What does it matter if Saya dies?"

"Just because someone's important to you doesn't mean they can take the place of other people you care about! Saya's my sister too, siblings are supposed to protect each other!" Riku was getting desperate, his words just didn't seem to be reaching her.

Diva's voice didn't waver as she replied. "She was my sister a long time before she was yours, and by blood even. As for protecting each other… Saya lived her own perfect, carefree life throughout our childhood while I remained locked away, alone and in the dark. She was a naïve, spoiled brat who only cared about herself. Even when she freed me it was only to indulge her own whimsy. She didn't even wait to see me after she unlocked the door, just ran off to her precious Haji. And yet… how I envied her and her life… I wanted it. I still _want_ it. But I can't have it as long as she is still breathing."

"But what if it didn't have to be that way?" Riku pleaded. "If you and Saya just gave each other a chance and honestly tried to understand each other, I'm sure you could-"

"Riku."

Riku was stunned by his own sudden silence. Diva's interruption had not been loud or sharp, but had nonetheless carried in its tone a violent intent so strong that it struck him to his very core. His body was frozen with fear, fear he had not experienced again in all the time since that night over a year ago in the minutes before Diva seduced him.

"Don't make me wish I had killed you."

Neither her face nor her voice held any emotion as she spoke. Her gaze was vacant and Rikku felt as though to her he was no longer even there. The casual indifference she wore was scaring him more than anything else as it meant he had no idea just what she was feelings or what she would do.

What came next was so swift that Rikku only registered it after it had happened. Diva backhanded him in a slap to the face so forceful that he was sent flying halfway across the room, crashing into a table and landing in a daze. He could feel the stinging and throbbing as his torn cheek mended itself. By the time he looked up, Diva had left the room, slamming the door so hard he was surprised it hadn't broken apart.

To say he was frightened would have been an understatement, but at the same time he didn't regret what he had done. He had proven to himself that whatever hold Diva and his chiropteran blood had over him, deep down he could still think and speak for himself. He knew now that Diva would never be able to enchant him to the point that he would hurt someone he cared about, or cease to care if they were hurt by someone else. For Rikku, this was a small bit of positive he had managed to find in what was a very negative situation.

--

Diva walked stiffly, still ever so near breaking into one of her infamous frenzies. It was just as well no one encountered her as she wandered the large house aimlessly, she would have probably killed them on sight. In addition, the only thing that kept her from tearing her surroundings to shreds was a nagging confusion that had wormed its way into her anger. Why hadn't she killed Riku? She had often killed for far less of an offense than what he had given her.

After all, how could he be so ungrateful?! Here she had given him so much! Fleshly pleasures most men could only dream of, the honor of her company, every material need or want he could ask for. She was making him a part of her long dreamt of family. She had even abstained from killing humans for their blood, all for him! She had given him more than she had any of her chevaliers and yet he still had the nerve to stick up for Saya!?

What had Riku done to her? Yes, she should have killed him back on the ship, right after seducing and making love with him, should have left him eternally hers as a statue whose eyes had last beheld her face. That way she could have avoided whatever horrid hold Riku had managed to get over her now. To have made her doubt herself and her ways, even for a moment… No one was allowed to do that. Never again. That was what she had promised herself all those years ago. Never again would anyone be in control of her, never again would anyone hold a place above her will.

Was it love? The idea intrigued and disturbed Diva. She had never given or felt love for her chevaliers, at most she was fond of them. In this way she could treat them as she saw fit, ignore whatever desires they had for her, and be little effected should one of them die or betray her. From what she had heard over the years, to love someone would require her to submit herself, to view their life, their wants, their needs as more important than her own. It was as inconceivable a concept now as it was when she had first heard of it, even after hearing various simple versions of the explanation from Riku. And yet she had just now rejected her personal desire to kill him in favor of leaving before her anger got the better of her.

What's more, another horrible feeling was growing inside her, distinct from the anger. She couldn't identify it as anything more than a strange mix of disappointment and sadness, themselves feelings she had rarely experienced after being freed from her tower. Whatever it was, it made her feel sick and weak and she hated it.

Was it the look he had given her that caused this feeling? She expected fear, maybe anger, in his eyes. She could deal with that. She was used to that. Yet Riku did not give her those things. His expression only showed a strange sadness. Pity? Sympathy? She didn't know what it was, only that it was a face she had never seen anyone else direct at her, and the more she thought about it the more it made her feel these things she neither liked, or could really identify.

These feelings… this pain… could it be guilt? It would explain why it felt so foreign to her. To Diva guilt was little more than a word. She knew what it meant but she had never felt it to her recollection. To have felt guilty she would have needed to first believe she was capable of doing wrong and to put it bluntly she didn't.

Diva was very much a person who thought in terms of black and white, albeit in a way that few others did. For in her view she was always right and therefore whatever she wanted at any given moment was also right. That meant that anyone who sought to get in her way was wrong and that was all there was to it. To believe otherwise would complicate things far too much.

Even if she allowed herself to consider that her views were not 'right' she certainly wouldn't take that as any reason to change. Even if she was wrong she was in the right for she was a victim. It was all Joel's fault after all! She was who he molded her to be. If she was flawed in any way it was because of him and therefore it was not her fault. Joel had long ago received his punishment but she was entitled to live as long as she wanted, however she wanted. The world that had produced Joel owed it to her and no one in it had a right to complain.

Yes… she never felt guilt because she was guiltless. She was perfect. She was Diva.

And yet… no matter how often she repeated that mantra… the strange pain inside her remained. Indeed, it seemed to get worse.

--

In her brooding Diva lost all sense of time, and next thing she knew Nathan and Amshel were standing before her inquiring as to what was going on.

"Diva my dear," Nathan cooed, "whatever is the matter? Earlier you said you were going to spend all this time off from your voice lessons playing with Riku. Shouldn't you go to him?"

"No," she replied flatly. "He's not being fun right now."

"Ah, I see… your first lover's spat," Nathan remarked dramatically. "I was wondering when it would happen."

Both Diva and Amshel seemed to ignore Nathan's reply. "With your permission," Amshel began, "I will have the boy removed from here at once."

In an instant Diva had whirled around and grabbed Amshel by his neck, her eyes blazing.

"Di-va?!" he choked. He was certainly capable of defending himself, but to strike back at Diva now could ruin whatever influence he still held over her. Plus he was far from certain he could win if Diva went all out and more than that he could not risk harming her or her babies, the first new purely natural chiropterans in over a century. He also doubted he could count on Nathan to assist him.

"You will do no such thing," she said in a voice that indicated any attempt to argue would have a violent consequence. "Riku belongs to me. You will not so much as touch him without my permission. If I wish him dead, I will kill him myself. No one else."

By now she was squeezing too hard for Amshel to even reply beyond a few strained breaths. Then, without altering her expression, she simply let go and walked away without another word. Nathan smirked at the whole display and continued to watch as Amshel crumpled to the floor coughing and gasping while trying to retain some of his pride.

"That's our Diva," Nathan mused. "Such a wonderful spitfire of a girl. Still, I haven't seen her this angry in a long time…"

Amshel spoke with a bit of pain and strain but by now seemed largely recovered. "Then… do you still maintain that the boy is a.… 'calming' influence on Diva?"

Nathan studied Diva as she left the hallway, his eyebrow cocked in curiosity and a hand to his chin. "I suppose we shall have to wait and see…"

--

Just out of sight of her chevalier Diva's image of rage gave way to despair as she slid to the floor against the wall and curled up, hugging her legs to chest. Those horrible feelings would just not go away. She wanted to see Riku so badly yet at the same time she was afraid of seeing him. She didn't know what to say or do, she had never been in a situation like this before.

"Riku…" she whimpered, remembering how he would hold her after her nightmares, how peaceful it would make her feel, how everything just seemed better when she saw him smile. It was only now that she realized, or at least admitted to realizing, that she didn't simply choose not to kill Riku earlier. She _couldn't_ kill him, he was too precious to her to ever lose now. In all her life her babies had been the only other things she had ever felt that way about. How? How was it possible for her to feel these things and, even though it hurt so much to feel them, why did she not want to lose those feelings for Riku and her babies? Was this truly what it meant to love someone?

"Riku… Riku…" she repeated in a pained tone as her trauma-laden mind continued to wrestle with its newfound emotional growth. She lay on the floor in a fetal position, whimpering a myriad of desires and emotions, trying to make sense of them. It seemed as if it was all she could do.

--

Hours passed and Riku found himself wishing he was still able to fall asleep. If he could then maybe he'd escape his current worries for a while. Instead he was stuck waiting to see just how Diva would ultimately react to his recent behavior. Would she kill him, torture him, act like it never happened? He needed to know, if only for the sake of finding some kindness and humanity in her. But in her current state her mind was closed to him, he couldn't even tell if she was still in the mansion.

It was late at night when he finally sensed her approach. She opened the door without her usual enthusiasm and instead of dashing over to kiss him she stood still in the dark room, the door shutting behind her. He could feel her eyes on him as for what seemed an eternity she simply stared at him. Riku couldn't take it. If she was going to punish him somehow then get it over with! The waiting and the not knowing seemed worse. He took a tentative step toward her to utter words to that effect but only managed a trembling "Diva" before he found himself being rocketed back onto the bed by a flying tackle from the girl.

He lay there thoroughly stunned, trying to get his breath back from Diva ramming into his chest. As for Diva she had again become still. She lay over him unmoving, though he could feel she had grasped the fabric of his pajamas over his shoulders and seemed to be holding on for dear life. Her head was buried in his chest, her hair down and splayed about, hiding what he might have been able to glimpse of her expression.

He waited, his heart slowing down then speeding up as he alternated between confused and fearful. Just what was she going to do, what was going through her head? It was true he could sometimes sense her presence and at times even her mood and mind when she dreamed but at the moment he had lost all focus. What did Diva's actions mean?

Then, gradually, he began to feel something. Diva was shaking, truly quivering, as she clung to him and he could hear muffled sounds escaping from her smothered face. They seemed to be a weak sniffling intermixed with a deeper sound. He felt a warm dampness forming on his shirt under her face. Then, an unmistakable sob whacked her body.

Diva was crying.

"Don't show me that face…" She whimpered into his chest, then looked at him directly, her eyes wet with tears. "Don't h-ate me… d-on't be afraid of me… it m-akes me feel things I don't understa-and… it makes me h-urt inside… please- please Riku…"

It was as though the Diva he had seen in the tortured dreams of her childhood had returned. She sounded so fragile and sad. It was as if the broken aspects of her that he had so long knew were there had finally come out in the open, revealing the desperate, lonely girl she was deep down.

_She's crying… she said she couldn't but she's really crying… and she's doing it because of me…_

And so Riku did the only thing he could think of to be a comfort, what his father had done so many times when he was sad, confused and afraid. He sat up, put his arms around her, and held her in a tight hug. Diva froze as she often did when Riku hugged her, her expression confused, but she was soon unable to hold back the wrenching sobs and grasped him more tightly, now weeping openly for the first time since the days she had cried alone in Joel's tower.

It was not as though Diva had never been held or hugged before Riku came along. Yet the touches of her chevalier were often mixed with reverence, awe, and sometimes fear. She was their queen, their goddess. Yet she did not feel that way under Riku's embrace. He held her as though he were her equal in some way. Somehow, that gave the simple gesture so much more meaning.

Diva cuddled into him, nestling her head in his lap and sighing with contentment even as she continued to sniffle and tears continued to bead the corners of her eyes. Riku was so warm, she felt so much comfort under his touch. Even more so as she felt him begin carefully, tenderly wiping her tears from her face with strokes of his fingers.

With little hesitation he then drew her up closer to him, putting his arms around her and letting the queen finish crying out her frustrations on his shoulder, holding and stroking her tenderly until she fell asleep. _I don't want to fight with you either. I just wish… I wish you could understand…_

But as she drifted to sleep, Riku could not have known that Diva had come to her own conclusion regarding the argument. _If he can't forget all of his past, maybe bringing a piece of it here will be enough. You'll see the truth Riku, once I get Kai for our family. He is mine too after all, and its time he realized it. When Saya is dead you'll all see that I am enough for you, that none of us need her._

-- _Time skip_

Standing in front of a mirror in her trailer, Diva smiled as her senses alerted her to a person she had been hoping to see here. Better yet she had enough time before this test of her song's abilities to have a good chat with the boy.

Nathan had stopped waxing eloquent about Diva's beauty the instant he noticed the girl's lips curl into a smile, and Amshel was just as alert.

"He's here. Riku's blood is telling me Kai is nearby," she stated, not even looking back at them.

The chevalier needed no orders, they already knew what Diva wanted thanks to a fit she had thrown earlier in which she had trashed a room in Nathan's home and even smashed a vase she had been fond of. All to make the point of how serious she was about this. Amshel turned and without a word left the trailer before vanishing in a blur of speed.

--

For Kai this had not been an enjoyable evening. Images of Diva seemed to be everywhere and it didn't help at all that she had donned an appearance so similar to that of Riku. Knowing that she, and possibly Riku, were within walking distance but being ordered by David not to attack on his own made it even worse. At least Irene was with him, albeit shadowing him as a lookout, or his nerves would have been completely fried by now. He focused his senses, trying to see if he could pick out her presence in the surrounding area and smiled as he realized how well she had hidden herself, he could barely feel her at all, let alone point her out. He snapped to attention though as a form suddenly blurred into focus in front of him.

"Here you are," Amshel remarked in an aloof tone, "the stray."

Kai's eyes narrowed into a glare of recognition and he fought to keep his fangs from forming. _So much for being undercover... _ "You… why would you be looking for me?"

"Diva wishes to meet with you. That is all the reason needed."

He glanced to the side. "And as for that defective product shadowing you, it will cease to do so immediately. My orders only pertain to not harming you. The creature will remain here or die."

_Damn it! He detected her straight way! Just how skilled is this guy? _Kai clenched his jaw, he wanted so badly to simply pummel the man who stood before him, but he couldn't. Nor could he put Irene at risk. "Irene!"

His call was answered immediately as the blond vampire shot out of nowhere and blurred into position next to him, her sword drawn. She glanced at him, trying to discern what he wanted them to do and gasped when he at last spoke. "Stay here."

"What?!" she replied in shock. "Kai you can't go alone-"

"Irene please!" he cried back, then took a breath to calm himself, placing his hands on her shoulders. "As my friend, you have to understand this is something I've got to do. Besides, I doubt she'd arrange all this just to kill me. Just go to the concert as planned and I'll meet up with you, alright?"

"It's not alright," Irene replied, taking a moment to glare at Amshel.

"Please," Kai repeated, taking her chin in his hand to meet her eyes with his. When she failed to reply he bent forward, putting his mouth to her ear. "You know I love you, right?" he whispered, Irene feeling a warm tingle spread through her at his words. "Please, trust me."

She sighed and gave Kai a quick hug, "I love you too," she whispered into his ear in reply. "So please, be careful." Kai nodded back, then turned to follow Amshel.

--

"Thank you for meeting with me Kai."

_As if I had a choice, _he spat back in his thoughts, glaring at the girl who had taken on the form of his brother and now was smiling at him as if they were old friends meeting in her trailer. It took every ounce of self-control Kai had learned over the past year and a half to keep from simply attacking Diva on sight. This was his chance to get answers, he needed to stay calm and see what he could find out. "What do you want with me?"

Diva beamed at him, seemingly unaware of his hostility. "Simply to give you an invitation to truly join my new family. You are my chevalier, so unless you're having babies with Saya you should want to come and be with me. We are family after all."

Kai clenched his fists and ground his teeth. "Even if you are Saya's sister you're no family to me! You're just the psycho who kidnapped my brother and forced me to become a chiropteran."

Diva gave him a mock pout. "Is that any way to speak to the one who granted you such a gift, who become your mother?"

Kai's left eye twitched. "You are not my mother either!"

"I gave you a new life through my blood. In that sense, I very much am your mother now. And also, because of my gift you are among the few who can give my sister babies now, though you may have to fight Solomon for her" she said, giggling at her little joke.

He sighed in exasperation. "What is with you and all this talk about babies? Next you'll start saying that crap about how you're my lover too, like I heard Solomon has said about Saya."

"I'm afraid you're out of luck there," she laughed, "my bed is reserved for only one lover now… but what of you? Surely some part of you wants to be with me? Chevalier are servants who live to pleasure one or both queens. It's in your nature, you should want me."

Kai would never admit it to her, but he had struggled with odd urges to be with Diva, to adore her and serve her. By now he could silence them easily by simply thinking of Irene or Saya. Yet even so he felt a part of himself finding Diva's offer surprisingly tempting.

"Obviously, you've managed to focus yourself elsewhere and overcome your blood somehow. Since it seems you aren't trying to have babies with Saya I wonder… perhaps you've gotten infatuated with that doll Amshel made? According to him she's been seen with you quite a bit."

Kai's eyes narrowed at her. "Irene is not a doll."

That confirmed that theory as far as Diva was concerned, so she prodded him a bit more. "She was produced, just as dolls are, and made to not last forever, just as dolls are."

"She's more real than you. It certainly doesn't matter how she was made. It never did, and thanks to Saya she'll live as long as any of us. She deserves it too. She was a victim and an experiment from the very start just like you, but she never liked killing people."

"Don't compare that doll's life to mine!" Diva snapped back, her voice rising and her eyes blazing blue for a moment as Kai shrank back in shock She took a deep breath and paused to calm down. "Regardless of what you may or may not have found with her, you may want to consider how happy you could be as one of mine. I could even let you take the doll along, you'll never have babies with her, but you could still have fun together. All you could want would be provided."

"What I want is to see Riku."

"In that case, you need look no further than in front of your eyes."

"Don't give me that crap!" Kai shouted back, no longer able to restrain his emotions. "You might look like Riku but you aren't him!"

Diva turned her head, appearing somehow bashful as she smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "Not entirely perhaps, but he and I have become as one." She stepped toward him. "His blood runs through me just as my blood runs through him, and more than that," she took Kai's hand and held it to her stomach before he could try to pull away, "two lives now exist inside me, each a half of him."

Kai was shaking, no longer just enraged but utterly shocked as he felt the slight movements in Diva's still small belly. She and Riku had… the implications were too much for the young man to take. He had at times wondered if Diva had taken Riku away out of some twisted attraction to him, but he never imagined this. It had to be some kind of sick joke.

Noticing his disbelief Diva turned away with a knowing smile and continued speaking, glad to have Kai hanging on her every word. "That is why I want you to be with me Kai. Someone will need to look after my babies when Riku and I need some time alone," her smile turned to a wry smirk and she even blushed a bit. Then her expression turned more serious as she looked him in the eye. "There is no one who I could trust more with them than a chevalier of mine who is also Riku's brother. After all there is the thirty year sleep to deal with too when I won't be able to protect them…" she added as an idle thought.

Kai shook his head, trying to clear his mind of what Diva was talking about. He knew one thing needed answering before anything else. "Then Riku, you're saying he's still alive?" he asked in realization. "Tell me what you did to him you bitch!"

Diva didn't flinch from the outburst, she simply kept smiling in a manner that had Kai wanting to tear her head off. "Of course he is alive, Riku is far too much fun for me not to keep around. As for what I did to him..." again she turned oddly coy, "only what came naturally. Riku was so nice, he was a bit shy at first but he couldn't resist me for long and we've been having fun ever since. I'm sure you've experienced similar things, with that doll of yours."

Kai was shaking now… remembering the frightened words Riku had stated about protecting Kai as Diva walked toward him that night seemingly so long ago. _Protect me… the worthless kid who was unconscious while you got kidnapped and raped, the failure who let you live with her for over a year?! _His self-hatred didn't last long though, he couldn't afford to dwell on that when Diva was right in front of him.

"You know, he really misses you."

This gave Kai pause. Perhaps he could still get some useful information. "Riku?"

"Yes, he talks about you all the time." She rolled her eyes as her voice suddenly started to eerily mimic Riku's, "it's always 'Kai once did this' or 'Kai used to say that.'"

"Yeah right," Kai scoffed once he got over the shock of hearing Riku's voice from _her _mouth, "and I suppose you expect me to believe Riku asked for me to join you as well?"

Diva giggled, "of course not silly. My Riku doesn't know I'm meeting with you. He doesn't even know where you are. I try to keep him away from things like this, he's a stronger boy than he was but I don't want him getting hurt."

Referring to Riku as hers had only added fuel to Kai's anger and he could feel his palms starting to bleed as he clenched his fists ever tighter.

Diva had turned oddly serious again. "I'll make it simple for you. This is the reality Kai. Saya will die, that is not going to change. However, you need not share her fate. I would like to give my Riku something of his old life back and I don't see you as an enemy like I do Saya. Do you not see what a wonderful opportunity this is? You will get to be part of my family, you will be with Riku again, surely that is worth leaving Saya for?"

Before Kai could answer there came a knock at the door followed by the entrance of Nathan and Amshel. Diva regarded them for a moment. It seemed it was time. She then turned to Kai again. "Don't answer yet Kai. For now, just come with me. I want you to see something. After that, perhaps you will understand how pointless it is for you to stay with Saya."

-- _time skip to end of concert_

Behind the stage where she had just sang Diva regarded Kai with an eerie degree of calm, even as chaos reigned in the audience nearby.

"That was a glimpse of the new world that will replace this one," she stated as the frightened screams of audience members and newly-created chiropterans filled the air alongside army helicopters and the Corpse Corps that had been put in place earlier for the planned rescue. "Now that you've seen it wouldn't you want to be on the winning side? I'm going to ask you again Kai, truly become my chevalier. Serve me and my babies beside Riku."

On impulse he pulled out the gun he had long carried but had little use for now and leveled it at Diva. But to Kai's shock she continued forward until the barrel of his gun pressed against her chest.

"Do it," she stated casually. Upon noting his shock she continued. "You hate me, don't you? I understand, so get rid of your hate by killing me. I'll only be dead for a few seconds, and then you can pledge yourself to me. Drink my blood as an oath to me Kai and the three of us can be happy together with my babies."

"You think I'm going to shoot you because you say its okay?!" It was tempting though, and Kai's anger was getting the better of him. He was Diva's chevalier, therefore her blood couldn't kill him. Maybe that could give him an edge? Maybe he could actually stand a chance of at least hurting her and getting out of this? Even so, the gun would be pretty useless here and he quickly put it back in his pants.

"I know you want to," Diva replied, her tone disturbingly calm. "Though I will have to ask that you not shoot my belly. We wouldn't want your nieces getting hurt would we?" She noticed Kai tense at those words and gave him a wicked smirk as she goaded him on. "Who do you think they'll look more like, me or Riku?"

"You bitch…" his voice distorted into a deep growling tone and his eyes blazed red, "I'm going to KILL YOU!"

But nothing came of it, Kai's transformed fist stopping inches in front of her face, Diva not flinching even as the force of the mock punch caused her hair to flail about as if it was in a strong wind. He breathed hard, his face still etched in rage. "I won't ever do what you say, I won't ever join you. Riku wouldn't want that for me, I'm sure of it." The hand that had transformed reverted back to human form as he regained his calm. "My place is with Saya and Irene, helping them stop you."

"That's a horrible thing to say!" Diva exclaimed in mild shock. "I thought you loved Riku!"

"I do love Riku you bitch!" Kai yelled back. "Don't you get it?"

"I think I do," she replied, her voice losing emotion. "Even though he is your own brother, Riku doesn't mean enough to you to leave my sister. I even offered to let you shoot me to apologize and you refuse. If that's how you feel then you don't deserve to be with him."

Her eyes gleamed with sudden ill intent. "Riku doesn't need a brother like you, so I'll just eat you. Then at least your blood and Riku's can mingle within me." She took a step toward him, her eyes glowing. "And I won't even be breaking my promise not to eat living humans, since you aren't human anymore…"

"Not if I can help it." Kai gave an audible growl as his fangs lengthened and now both his hands transformed to the brutal shield fists of his chiropteran form.

-- _time skip_

"Well Riku, did you see the show?" Diva asked as she abandoned her boyish disguise for her alluring true form.

He nodded, his expression saddening. Diva hadn't allowed him to watch it in person as she didn't want to risk Saya finding him, but he'd been able to watch the events on a view screen in his secured room on the base. "Those people… your singing changed them, made them into those monsters?"

"That, and some special ingredients. People should learn ice cream isn't good for them" she joked only to frown as she noticed his expression. "Oh come now Riku, how could you feel sorry for any of them? What do they matter?"

Riku's eyes watered as he tried to hold back his tears. Here he had thought he was getting through to Diva, but manipulated or not, she was still doing terrible things and it was tearing him up inside. "It doesn't matter I guess… what do I know about anything…" he muttered, his voice breaking. "It's just… those people, so many of them are dead now… and they probably all had someone out there who cared about them as much as you care about your babies…"

"Ridiculous," Diva retorted with a mocking laugh. "Worthless feelings from worthless lives. Here at least they died for something. Most death has no reason at all in this world."

Riku's expression remained dour and Diva felt herself losing patience with him when a thought suddenly struck her. "Oh, by the way," she remarked with a smirk, "I met with Kai today." Riku raised his head at the mention of his brother's name. Diva walked over and wrapped her arms around him possessively from behind as she spoke into his ear, pressing her body up against him. "Your blood let me know he was near. You might be able to feel things like that too as your abilities grow."

Satisfied that she had flustered Riku a bit she released him and stepped away, her arms behind her back as she related the rest of the story. "Anyway, we had a nice talk, I even told him he could come see you after the show, provided he swore his loyalty as my chevalier. But you know how stubborn he is. Then Saya had to come and get in the way, then Solomon showed up and really ruined things by taking off with Saya."

She sighed, "it could have gone so much better, but Saya seemed different. I thought she seemed to have gotten better when I saw her fight against James but now I'm sure that she's a lot stronger than she was when we last fought. I thought I might actually have to try while fighting her until Amshel managed to knock her out, and I doubt he could have done that so quickly if sister wasn't so sleepy. Kai's gotten stronger too, but he's still way too slow to hit Amshel or Nathan if they see him coming."

Riku was silent as he processed the news but Diva paid no attention as she now put her arms around him and stared down into his eyes, fingering his chest teasingly. "You know Riku, we do still have a while before we go back to Nathan's place. How about you help me relax a bit and I help you take your mind off Saya and that stupid Kai."

Riku was about to stand up for his brother and argue further but his words caught in his throat as Diva suddenly spun him around, pressing her breasts against his back and sucking on his right earlobe while her fingers roamed south of his stomach. "Diva," he gasped, trying to choke back the moan he felt coming from the dazzling sensations, "please… I'm really not in the mood for this right now…"

"I know," she purred back in a sympathetic tone but didn't let up as she moved to his neck, "neither am I… but we both know how easy it is to get in the mood, and I want to get my mind off this whole awful night…"

"Diva- ah! …ah!" he gasped again, his body bucking and trembling with pleasure as Diva now whispered bits of her haunting song into his ear. It was one of the benefits of all her practice that she could use her voice like this now, a siren call that could melt away Riku's resistance faster than her body and scent alone could.

Faced with the choice of either agonizing over the carnage Diva had helped cause or forgetting all his worries in the pleasurable haze of Diva's influence, Riku chose the latter with no small amount of guilt. Still, he renewed his resolve to show Diva the value of real love, to reach and nurture the vestiges of true humanity and sanity that remained in her tortured soul. He held onto the memory of that night she had shown him her tears and his confidence rose that there was still something in Diva that was worth saving.

**Notes:**

Believe it or not this chapter could have taken even longer to get out but I decided this was a better stopping point than the later one I had initially planned on.

Many apologies to those who have waited so long for this. Writing fast has never been my strongpoint and this story proves to me again that in the future I shouldn't post a story until most of the chapters are finished. Even so, be assured I do fully plan on finishing this, I just can't say how long it may take.

Also note I had to add a bit to chapter 4 as I had initially forgotten to have Solomon tell Saya about Diva being on Christina Island (or rather he thought she would be on it).


	6. Chapter 6: Thicker Than Blood

Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue

--

Part 6: Thicker Than Blood

--

Saya's mind was beyond troubled as she searched her room for something to wear in place of the dress she had been given by her abductor/savior. Her night as Solomon's "guest" had left her confused and disheartened. She truly did appreciate Solomon's feelings for her, but she could not accept them, certainly not as they were. He claimed to love her, to want to be among her loved ones and be a part of her family. Yet he had tried to kill Haji out of little more than feeling threatened by his relationship with her. He also seemed so willing to have her simply abandon everything she had devoted herself to, including Kai and Riku. She wondered if Haji would do that if she asked it of him. Perhaps, but at the same time she was certain that Haji truly cared for her wishes as his own and would not want her to abandon them and run away to live however she pleased.

Speaking of Haji, his words about his bond with her still echoed in her mind. She had rarely seen him so… emotional, even before the trauma that changed him in Vietnam. On the surface his claims of devotion to her were similar to Solomon's, but with an important difference. There were no conditions. Haji wanted to be with her and protect her, but he asked nothing of her and never tried to force his own desires on her in the selfish way Solomon had. If, that is, he even had such desires for her…

Saya didn't like thinking along those lines though, not when she was still so sure that killing Diva had to be followed by her own death. If she focused on what-ifs regarding Haji's relationship with her she could end up doing the same thing as Solomon, abandoning her duties for her feelings. Still… she had to admit Haji looked quite heroic when he spread his magnificent wings. A slight blush formed on her face as she relived the memory.

But no, she chastised herself, shaking her head to clear it, her main concern now was the new revelation Solomon had given her about Diva and that Kai had been told about by Diva herself. It confirmed her worst suspicions about her sister's interest in Riku, but that made it no easier to accept.

"Diva and Riku's… children…" she said softly, still finding it hard to comprehend.

On the one hand she was happy to know that Riku was alive and well, at least physically. Yet when she met him again would anything remain of the Riku she had known? She couldn't begin to imagine just what over a year with her sister might have done to his psyche. Had she brainwashed him, traumatized him so badly that he would choose to side with Diva? Did he have an actual relationship with her sister or did she treat him like a prisoner, providing nothing but the necessities and taking whatever she wanted from him? For that matter, just what did Diva do all the time?

This caused her thoughts to meander down new paths. She realized she actually knew very little about Diva as a person, even if what she did know was more than most. It was hard for her to even guess what Diva's normal, everyday life was like. Clearly she wasn't constantly slaughtering people or causing suffering, yet at the same time it was hard to see her doing anything a normal person would do.

No, trying to see Diva as a person was pointless. What mattered was finding her while she could still fight. She put a hand to her forehead as a slight wave of dizziness her. These attacks of fatigue were becoming more common, now no longer occurring only when she strained her body in combat. Her thirty year sleep was drawing nearer, and if the past was any indication there was no telling with certainty just when it would hit her full force. For now she had to recoup what strength she could via normal sleep and hope for the best.

-- _Time skip_

James Ironside was not a man known for being impulsive or overly emotional. He lived his life by calm and steady logic. Logic that was dictated by a few simple rules, rules that revolved around his reason for living, the single most important thing in his existence. Diva.

Diva was everything. She was the beloved mother who had given him this eternal life, this power beyond any mere mortal. Even more than that, she had given him a higher purpose in serving her.

Yet, now it was all falling apart. He had failed to kill Saya and indeed had lost against the combined assault of Saya, Haji, that brat Kai and the Schiff back on that island. For all the shame of his failure he still wished he had died there. It was better than living with Diva's rejection of him.

He really should have died, yet Amshel had somehow been able to get to him in time to preserve enough of his body to keep him living.

--_Flashback_--

Hack

Cut

Those were the sounds he awoke to. His hearing seemed to work well enough but he was so tired he couldn't even open his eyes. What had happened to him? He tried to think back. He had been on Christina Island, acting as part of a trap prepared for Saya and her allies. He had engaged them with some success, his superior tactics and the sheer number of Corpse Corps with him granting an advantage, as did his armor plated body. Yet at some point they had swarmed him and worked together to tear off one of those plates, allowing Saya's blade to strike true.

He had grabbed her, prepared to take Saya with him into the depths of the vast hole he had prepared for her, a worthy end. And then… then that accursed Solomon had come and saved her! The traitor… he would see to it that this chevalier he had long hated for being mother's "favorite" would die for this! Die… why was he not dead?

Hack

Cut

There were those sounds again, followed by enough sensation for him to tell that his body was being struck and cut into, that these instruments were the source of the sounds. He managed to groan slightly, not in pain, for he felt numb all over, but in frustration over not knowing just what was happening.

"So, you have regained some measure of consciousness? It appears I was right, your dense body structure slowed the crystallization just enough to save your life."

James knew that apathetic voice anywhere. _Amshel… so he has come for me…_

He must have somehow arrived in time to keep Saya's blood from spreading to his head and heart by cutting away every part that was infected by it. It was strange he was not in more pain, but his body must have simply been too much in shock from suffering such horrific damage.

"It truly is a shame," he heard Amshel remark casually. "So much effort was placed in creating chevalier from Saya's blood, yet in the end we were hardly able to use them against her before the samples deteriorated to the point that further cloning was impossible."

Another stab and cut, another piece of his body torn away forever.

"And yet, it is fortunate that we were able to replicate the superior aspects of Moses' blood into the samples provided by Diva. These Corpse Corps are vulnerable to Saya's blood, but their fighting abilities are similar to those of the strongest Schiff and as you know, they can be mass produced."

He felt himself moving, someone had picked him up.

"Furthermore, such mass production makes replacing lost body parts easier than ever before."

There were mechanical noises, as though something were being opened.

"I do hope you will make better use of such replacement parts than Karl did."

Now he felt himself being placed into some kind of liquid. He grew tired, and at last passed out once more.

--_End Flashback_--

He had spent weeks slowly healing in a special chamber of liquid but even a chevalier could not regenerate entirely lost parts, only reattach severed ones. Thus Amshel had given him spare parts, much as he had given to Karl. It was a simple matter really. Just as Amshel had grown artificial chevalier from Saya's blood, he was now doing the same with Diva's blood, and had in fact already done so earlier for Karl. These counterparts to the Schiff, the Corpse Corp were vulnerable to Saya's blood, but the fact remained that Diva's blood was far more available to them than Saya's. After so much cloning Saya's blood samples had also deteriorated, rendering them useless for creating more Corpse Corps.

As for Diva's rejection of him, he could not bring himself to blame her. In his eyes his mother could do no wrong. No… it was the fault of those accursed boys who had seduced and charmed her into abandoning him, into replacing him. They were the reason she now looked at his body with such disgust and regarded him as no longer the James she knew. Because of Riku she had long since stopped showing him much physical affection, but still often admired his body. She had often said his good looks were the main reason she had agreed with Amshel to make him into a chevalier, and with those looks now altered she equated him with the Schiff, who she referred to as "dolls."

Dolls… artificial fabrications, inanimate representations of something real and alive. Things were worse than they had ever been with Solomon, for now she only had eyes for Riku and also seemed very interested in bringing his brother, Kai, officially into the fold, maintaining that her wayward chevalier needed to come home to his "mother." James would listen to this without so much as twitching, but inside he boiled with anger.

For now at least, Riku was off limits. He could not and would not go against his queen's orders, which were to not lay so much as a finger on Rikku without her say-so. However, Kai Miyagusuku was another matter entirely. Diva had only expressed a desire to have him join her as a chevalier, as his replacement. Yet the little fool had refused. As far as James was concerned that made Kai fair game for venting his anger on. Yes, he would kill Kai Miyagusuku, if only to keep him from Diva.

Regardless, the elimination of Saya had to remain his first priority. If he was lucky perhaps he could accomplish both objectives at the same time. One thing was certain. He had nothing to lose, and this time nothing short of death would stop him succeeding in his mission.

-- _time skip_

It was surreal, perhaps more surreal than anything else he had experienced. Yet there they were.

His children.

His and Diva's… children.

His and Diva's… cocoons?

Indeed, that was what Diva was now excitedly showing him as he stood silent at the sight. How was it possible he had helped make these strange cocoons? He had accepted it but now that they had been cut out of Diva and were right in front of him he found it made him feel so very strange. He then wondered if that feeling came from the fact that he had children or the fact that they were in cocoons, but he doubted he'd figure out the answer any time soon.

He was then engrossed by thoughts of how Saya and Diva were once in cocoons just like this, so many years ago, and would create somewhat different cocoons for their dormant years. Perhaps Haji was so stoic simply because he encountered such incredibly strange things so often that now virtually nothing was capable of fazing him.

"Here, hold one!" Diva said happily placing it, or rather, her in his arms and brining his pondering to an end. "Aren't they precious? Amshell says I should wait a bit before giving them blood to get them out of their cocoons, but knowing they are in there just makes me feel so wonderful! I haven't even been able to come up with names for them, I've been so excited!"

Surreal or not, seeing Diva so happy brought a genuine smile to Riku's face and as she danced around with the other cocoon he looked down at the one he was holding and sighed. "I never thought I'd be a dad so soon, and I have no idea if I can ever be a good one. But I know I want to be there for you, and your sister. I want both of you and your mom to be happy. I just… don't know how. I was a burden to my sister and brother and I wasn't able to save my friend. I couldn't even protect myself."

Yet, the more he looked at the cocoons and the more he thought about the children within, the more he felt a bond with them grow. He wanted to protect them, wanted it more strongly than he had ever expected. So was it possible he did have a bit of a father in him somewhere?

-- _time skip_

Riku could feel his eyes moistening at the sad sight before him. Solomon hung in chains, beaten to within an inch of his life. When Diva had related to him the chevalier's attempt to kill her he had been initially relieved to know she had relented from killing Solomon while defending herself. Yet now he briefly wondered if it would have been better if she had killed him. He was reminded again of just how powerful Diva was that she could leave Solomon like this and not receive so much as a scratch herself.

What's more, beyond his injuries the chevalier's spirit appeared utterly broken, as though he had given up on everything. Riku didn't know what to say, and wondered if the man was even conscious enough to hear him or know he was there. This was proven soon enough though as the dark-suited Solomon addressed him in a weak voice.

"I must… make a pathetic sight… Riku…"

His words pulled Riku from his thoughts and he turned his attention back. "Solomon… I…" he still honestly didn't know what to say. What could he possibly say? Solomon spared him that dilemma though as he spoke again.

"James… James intends to…" he paused to rest and consider his words. "When he is done, I will have betrayed Diva for nothing."

"What do you mean? What is James going to do?!" Riku demanded, feeling this must involve his family in some way.

"He's going to attack them soon. He wants to kill Kai as well but Saya is his main target. He came here… gloating about how he would kill her…he is more dangerous than ever before… he feels he has nothing to lose…"

"Why are you talking like Saya and Kai are already dead?!" Riku yelled back, quieting as he realized it would be better not to advertise his presence here but continuing to speak with some intensity. "They can fight him, they can win! They did it before didn't they? And you can help them, I'll let you out. Just give me a chance to find the keys-"

"It is useless."

Riku had for a moment been stunned silent at the interruption. Such words didn't seem right coming from this man. "But… but you already risked so much… why is it useless now?"

Solomon gave a bitter laugh. "Are you disappointed in me Riku? Yet it remains that Diva has shown me it is pointless for me to struggle with my place in life. Even in death I will not be able to serve Saya. Nor am I worthy to…"

"Solomon… that's… you're wrong… your feelings about this do matter…" Riku trailed off, wishing he had sounded more confidant.

Solomon raised his head slightly to get a better look at the boy. "You know Riku, I once was a lot like you, I felt a great deal for the world around me. However, I was possessed by a desire to escape the harsh realities of the human world once I realized I could not change them. Becoming a chevalier gave me that, but at the same time I eventually stopped caring about human lives at all. I was indifferent to them. I was surrounded by apathy, manipulation, murder and greed and that is all Diva has ever known. Yet Saya has somehow kept her heart for humanity after all these years. You are like her Riku, you are so full of kindness and understanding, while I have traded it for apathy and now… despair…"

He hung his head. "If we had known each other back then… perhaps we could have been friends… but it seems the hand fate has dealt me is a cruel one, brought about first by my urge to escape the world's problems, then my blood's desire for Saya."

Riku clenched his fist and jaw, beginning to sound angry, the words he wanted to say finally coming to him. "Don't say that…"

He then repeated it more strongly. "Don't say that! Because I know you don't believe it! Don't go and blame fate for the choices you made!"

"Riku…" Solomon remarked in a confused tone. Just what was the boy implying?

"You chose to serve Diva and you chose to stop caring about the people in the world, just like you chose to start to care again, even a little bit, because you saw what Saya had chosen to do. Then you chose to follow your feelings for Saya, chose to go against Diva and now you've chosen to pity yourself!"

He stepped closer, his expression serious. "My sister never wanted to fight Diva. It would have been easy to stop caring and just live for herself, to run away and forget all about Diva. But she decided there were more important things than what she wanted."

"Is this what you hope to teach Diva? To choose her own path? To do what is right rather than what is easy or desirable?" He chuckled bitterly, a sad and broken laugh. "Odd words… coming from someone she has so thoroughly broken. How can you urge me to overcome my blood when you are a slave to your own blood's desires?"

Thankfully Riku had given that question a lot of thought himself over the past year, and was now well-prepared to give an answer. "It's true that Diva has some hold over me, and that a lot about me has changed since I became a chevalier." Then he continued with conviction, "That doesn't mean I'm still not me. I still love my sister and my brother, and I want to protect them, being with Diva hasn't changed that. In fact, I'd say the one who really needs to be freed, the one who has really been broken isn't me or even you but Diva."

"You may be right," Solomon allowed with a sigh, "however, Diva has been a slave to her hatred for almost as long as she can remember, a slavery that is supported by my brother Amshel. She will never let go of that hate, she cannot let go of it and neither can Saya. It is part of their identities now. I can see that because all my efforts to reach her heart and Saya's failed. Their war can only end in death for one or both of them. To change that is as futile a thing as my making Saya love me or believing I could actually kill Diva."

"That's not the point!" Riku practically yelled. "Don't you see you're just being selfish?!"

Solomon was surprised at the new accusation. "Selfish? How-"

"Yeah, selfish," Riku repeatedly angrily. "All you're thinking about is how sorry you feel for yourself. If you really love my sister then you'll try to find a way to help her no matter where you are or what you're doing. Even if you can't find a way if you just keep trying then there is still hope that something can change and that you'll be there to take advantage of it when it does. It's what I have to do every day I'm here with Diva."

"I see," the chevalier remarked, inwardly impressed with the strength of resolve the boy had developed in his time with Diva. It seemed this was how his overall psyche was still intact after facing such trauma as his kidnapping.

He sighed, the feeling of self-loathing lightening in him. "Don't misunderstand. I do want to help her," Solomon stated, some force now behind his words, "but what can I possibly do now?"

"You can rest and heal and think up a plan," Riku remarked back. "And rethink your priorities."

"My priorities?"

"Yeah, like stop wanting to give up everything because Saya won't return your feelings. That doesn't mean those feelings don't mean anything to her! If you really love her then you'll show it without expecting something in return! You'll protect her because you love her and care about what she wants!" He breathed in and out deeply, his expression softening. You don't need me to tell you this either, you already know its true."

"It's not just you either…" Riku continued. "I want… I want to make the best of the situation I'm in. I want to be strong and not give in to despair. I want to believe that Diva is changing and has changed. I want to believe that I can change too, into something better."

"Yes, Diva is full of hate and anger, anyone can see that but… deep inside she's… so sad and lonely… so broken and in so much pain… she doesn't understand how wrong the things she's done are, no one ever taught her what right and wrong even were."

"But I want to believe in her… I want to believe she can become a better person, that she can change just like you changed, like how the Schiff changed. I choose to believe I stay here for more reasons than because my blood tells me to. My blood feels lust for Diva and makes me want to be with her, but it can't make me care about her as a person. I chose to do that."

"Maybe it's selfish… Maybe I want to believe there's good in her so much because if I didn't I couldn't live with myself and the things I've done with her… but its still my choice to make. Even if its just a stupid fantasy I'd rather believe in it than accept that there's no hope at all in this. If I just give up on everything now, then what was the point of living this long in the first place?"

Solomon looked him in the eye now, his voice mocking but his expression sad. The boy's optimism was making him feel quite conflicted now. "Beautiful words… but what if there is in fact no point? What if there is no hope, no good that can come out of this for anyone, especially Diva?"

Riku was silent for a moment, then fixed Solomon with a stare so intense that he gasped at the sight of it. Riku's eyes had turned blood red and his voice had gained a slight edge to it that wasn't there before. "Then I'll make my own hope. I'm still alive, and so are you. As long as that's true then there is a chance to find a way to make things better. If there was even the slightest chance wouldn't you want to find it and use it? Well, wouldn't you?"

For several long moments they had held each other's gaze, when suddenly the confidence returned in Solomon's expression. "Yes," he answered, conviction his again. However, just as suddenly his expression fell at the sound of a light clapping in the background. He glared into the dark corners of the room, Riku now on edge as well. Slowly a tall figure proceeded to emerge, clapping one hand against his palm.

"Bravo Riku, Solomon. I was truly moved."

Solomon gave him a suspicious glare. "How long have you been there, Nathan?"

"Long enough," Nathan replied, enigmatic as usual. "I was heading down here anyway after all." The gaudy chevalier now glanced at Riku, who was staring at him in apparent shock at being discovered.

"Take it easy little one," Nathan reassured, holding up his hands in a surrendering position, "I'm not the type to scold anyone. Though I cannot say the same for Miss Diva should she wake up and find out you aren't around."

Riku knew full well how right Nathan was. He had waited a good while for Diva to fall asleep with the cocoons containing his and hers'… it was still hard to accept… daughters, before sneaking out to check on Solomon. He knew if he went too far Diva would likely sense it and track him down, but he'd learned that so long as he stayed near the mansion she would probably sleep undisturbed.

Nathan looked at him seriously. "I would suggest that you get back to her right away, the dear has had such a busy day and if you're there you can help keep those nightmares of her at bay." He then turned away as if dismissing Riku and stood before Solomon.

On impulse Riku had started walking out, but now stopped, looking over his shoulder at the scene and feeling considerable concern for the white chevalier. "What are you going to do with him?" he asked quietly, his timid side surfacing again.

Nathan glanced back and smiled. "Set him free of course, after I give him a bit of my blood that is. He'll need it as he can't go anywhere in his current state."

Riku felt his jaw drop. "… Let him go? But… but why, why are you helping?"

Nathan eyed Solomon, who seemed still skeptical but willing to listen, and grinned a bit. "I want to see just what his resolve leads to. Normally I make it a rule not to interfere in these matter, but I can't deny a chevalier who chooses to break free of the urges of his blood and choose his own path. That is one thing I hold in high regard, and so I will allow Solomon to carry out his choice to the furthest degree that he can, just as I have chosen to honor my own choices until the very end."

"Your own… choices?" Riku repeated in confusion.

Nathan looked back at him, his expression a strange mix of wise and whimsical. "Don't expect any big revelations from me Riku. After all, every epic story needs a bit of mystery and suspense to it don't you agree? Keep my words in mind, ponder them… or don't. Either way makes no difference to me."

"You're… a very strange person Nathan…" Riku remarked before walking away, not sure what to feel about all this.

"Aren't I though?" Nathan replied with a wink.

--

Saya swore under her breath. It was true that feeding more often on blood and exercising her chiropteran abilities had increased her overall power a great deal. Yet, with her sleep approaching, actually using such power was becoming more and more difficult. Invariably she would feel her energy slipping along with her consciousness after too many exertions, leaving herself open to attack. Thus it was that the queen was having difficulty fighting the skilled chevalier James Ironside.

Lulu, who had come to visit and watch television earlier, had along with Irene (who had remained behind while Kai and the others except Haji and Julia went on a sabotage mission), attempted to fight alongside her and Haji on the roof after James ambushed them. Their goal had been to defeat James as a group as they had once before. Yet the man would not allow himself to fall for the same ploy twice and constantly evaded their efforts to hold him down and tear his armor off. More than that he seemed faster and more driven than before, shaking off every hit they managed to land. Thus their attacks did little but slow the chevalier down and though Moses and Karman had been contacted, she doubted they would arrive in time to help.

Irene had opted to transform her arms once her sword proved useless, but even her monstrous claws could do little but scratch the surface of James' armor and her strongest punches only caused small cracks to appear in it. Saya's physical attacks were actually more effective at face value, her kicks strong enough to snap James' head back and even send him air born for a short distance before crashing hard on the ground. Yet the damage was just as ineffectual, and with his longer reach such attacks were dangerous to execute.

Dodging a punch to slip close inside his guard, Irene now tried a new tactic. Her eyes glowing red, she snarled as she gave James a double shot of the spike weapon from her arms, extending the spikes into poles instead of firing them like darts, in an attempt to increase her leverage and pierce his armor plating.

James was hit in the chest and pushed back several feet, but while it did crack his armor once more refused to break. "Be gone you worthless defect!" He shouted and promptly snapped the pole spikes before knocking her aside with them and nailing her body to the roof of the building that served as the floor of their fighting ground. Pierced by her own spikes through the shoulder and abdomen, she could only groan in pain as she struggled to pull them out.

The others had not been idle in the time Irene had brought them and had surrounded James for another attempt at a coordinated attack. Each coming from a different direction, Haji, Lulu and Saya charged James at top speed only to have James' huge but surprisingly nimble body step back out of range of Saya's slash and promptly block Lulu's axe with one arm and Haji's claws with the other. He turned quickly and with a fierce punch sent Lulu sprawling, her axe falling from her grip. He turned back just in time to receive a slash in the eye from Haji, who he still managed to impale on his own firing spikes even as he let out a roar of pain. Saya had started another attack by now and aimed a thrust of her sword at the eye Haji had damaged, only to have James again jump back just enough to avoid it. It was then she noticed a particularly large crack in the armor of his shoulder, completely open to attack, and in range from her current position.

_Now's my chance!_ Turning her blade up she now aimed at the crack ready to thrust her sword like a spear. If she could focus all her strength on a point where his armor had already been cracked, then she was sure she'd be able to stab all the way through. The point of the sword met the armor with a clash and began to penetrate, the crack widening. She only needed to push a bit more…

But it was not to be. Her exertions in this fight had been too much. At the worst of moments her hibernation symptoms erupted again, her sight blurring, her strength leaving her, replaced with a overwhelming fatigue. _No… not now! …not now…_

James noticed it immediately and struck at the opening he'd been given. With a mighty swipe of his claws he tore Saya's sword from her grip and held it in his huge hand as she stumbled back away from him.

"I will kill you with your own sword!" he shouted, wondering briefly what Nathan might think of the dramatic irony even as he renewed his attack, raising the sword over his head and swinging toward Saya as she struggled to regain her footing. Haji had nearly freed himself to intercept him, as had Irene but James doubted they would make it in time. He'd impale Saya through the neck before cutting her head off in a shower of blood that would make Diva care for him once more. _This struggle is over!_

Yet his vision did not come to pass as he found his blade blocked by Solomon's chiropteran blade hand. He stood in front of Saya, struggling to keep his footing against the powerful chevalier while in human form. Solomon knew he couldn't transform completely in his weakened state but hoped to be able to do some damage at least. Saya could only stare wide-eyed at her rescuer.

James shock did not keep him silent for long. "Damn you Solomon! Do you really think you can fight me in that form?"

Though his voice was strained, the outcast chevalier spoke with a fire in his eyes that gave James pause. "I will live by the vow I made to Saya and fight as her chevalier. I will not allow you to harm her or those she cares for. With that vow I will overcome my blood and live beyond it until the very end!"

"Overcome your blood?" James mocked after loosing a harsh laugh, "You fool! You convictions are nothing but water to blood. We chevalier are all slaves either to the blood of our mother Diva or to our bride Saya. You have only switched mistresses because you wish to propagate your treacherous genes!"

"No." Solomon stated in a deadly serious tone. "Not anymore. I will no longer demand anything of Saya. I will fight beside her because I love her, not because of the desires of my blood. That resolve will remain even if she never chooses me as her groom."

With his words came a surge of strength and he pushed James back. But the whims of coincidence can be cruel, for his action caused James's grip on the sword to loosen and as the sword fell, it cut a shallow wound in Solomon's chest, sending Saya's blood into his system. He paid it no heed but his strength gave in regardless and James pushed him back before flinging him aside.

By now Haji, Irene and Lulu had all gathered in front of Saya and readied themselves to defend her. James glowered at them. Why would they just not die?! "Again and again you rise up to futilely oppose me, to oppose Diva! Why?!"

"Because what you're doing is wrong!" Lulu stated with conviction as she hefted her ax. "You really think the world you're making will be better than this one?"

"I care nothing of what becomes of this world. It can all be damned to hell if that is what Diva wills. For Diva's will is everything. She is everything. The greatest and truest purpose a human can hope to find in this wretched world only exists in the honor of devoting yourself to pleasing her! Diva has given me that honor and that is all that matters!" James snarled back only for another voice to interject.

"Diva's will… do you really think her will is the reason for all this is?"

It was Solomon, kneeling to the side of them, exhausted from overstraining himself.

"Diva's will… heh…"

He chuckled darkly. "It's strange James, it truly is… I had always considered you the one who loved Diva the most. However, seeing you now, I realize how wrong I was to think that. You really think what we have been doing all these years is Diva's true will? No, you have followed Amshel's will because doing otherwise would have jeopardized your ability to stay at Diva's side. You wanted to hang onto the facade of Diva that Amshel has conditioned her in all these years, rather than see her for the damaged, sick girl she is and truly help her."

"You…" James was all but speechless, shocked at Solomon's words.

Solomon shook his head and let out another chuckle. "In the end your love for her seems to be above all else a selfish desire for her affection. Then when she took it away you stopped caring about serving Diva and became obsessed with gaining that affection again. Real devotion depends on no ulterior motive. You're like a spoiled child…"

James' eyes burned with rage. "You dare… you dare accuse me of tainted devotion you traitorous dog?! It does not matter what you say or do. Rise back up a thousand times and I will strike you down again! Saya will die for mother, for DIVA!"

He began another charge and the group tensed themselves, Solomon leaping to their side to assist and being acknowledged with a grateful nod from Saya. But suddenly James stopped. He grunted in confusion as he strained to move, trying to discern the source of the pain welling up inside him. As if in answer, red cracks began forming in his limbs and lower body, spreading rapidly from there.

"No… no!" he yelled. "What- is this? What is happening- to- me!"

Karman and Moses had just arrived and as it was apparent that Solomon was again helping them they ignored him in favor of charging James. However, Irene signaled them to stop with a raised hand and a sad shake of her head.

The gentle schiff now stepped forward, giving James an expression that seemed a mix of pity and empathy. "You know as well as I do, it is what we call the Thorn, the flaw that tears our imperfect bodies apart and limits our life spans."

"That is not possible!" James raged, even as the cracks began to multiply and enlarge. "I am of Diva's perfect blood! The blood of the schiff cannot taint me! Unlike you these parts were made from Diva's blood! It is not aged or flawed as Saya's blood sample was! Even if it was imperfect my perfect blood born of Diva would negate it!"

"But Diva hasn't been giving you her blood has she?" replied Irene in a small voice. When he failed to answer she continued. "It is only by drinking Saya's blood that we are able to keep the Thorn from appearing and to treat it if it does appear. It is not a cure but it may lead to a cure someday. I guess you didn't know…"

"No…" he growled in disbelief and tried to renew his attack, "it- cannot- be!"

Saya was not one to ignore an opportunity and any part of her that did feel guilty for taking advantage of the situation was quelled by the knowledge she'd be shortening the chevalier's suffering. Picking up her bloodied sword she ran at James and stabbed the blade into the large red cracks in his armor. It penetrated with ease and within seconds the crystallization was speeding up. "It's over," she stated, her voice showing no elation.

By now James could no longer move his body, only mutter helplessly as his body fell apart. "… Mo-ther-" was the last thing to escape his mouth before he was silenced by his solidifying tongue. Whether it was uttered in anger, love, despair, or some combination, no one could say for sure.

_And so ends the life of James Ironside…_ Solomon couldn't help but feel pity for the man who had worked so hard and devoted so much, even if his intentions were ultimately selfish and misguided. Yet his own resolve was never in doubt as he turned to see Saya addressing him.

"Thank you Solomon, for helping us," she said sincerely with a grateful smile.

He smiled warmly back at her. "Saya… I will always desire to come to your aid." He said this even as he knew the small amount of her blood in him was taking effect, and that he would die from it. He knew there was nothing that could be done for him. For although the wound was not very deep and her blood's effect was taking time to spread, her sword had still cut near his heart. The infected area could not be excised, and he did not wish for his last memory of Saya to be of her face expressing sadness. No, he wanted his last sight of her to be of her smile. He noticed Haji staring at his wound and was grateful the other chevalier seemed to understand his wish that it be kept silent.

"Solomon," Saya started again, her voice pleading. She needed to ask something she had been too shocked to inquire on last time. "Before, after you took me from the army base, you said that Diva and Riku have been together all this time, but that Diva takes good care of him and he is doing well. But how can that be true if Diva is pregnant with Riku's children?! Riku would never willingly do…" Saya paused, looking distinctly uncomfortable, "something like _that_… not with her."

"It may not be easy to understand or accept, but Riku cares deeply for Diva and she appears to care for him more than I have ever seen her care about anyone. However, he has not been brainwashed, nor is he blind to his situation. He is on your side Saya, and though he wants to save Diva he realizes that it may not be possible. However, if you wish to keep Riku out of harms way, Diva's concert will be your best opportunity as she won't chance bringing him with her. I know you will do what you have to Saya, but please remember what I have told you about Diva."

"Yes, thank you again." Saya's smiled returned, grateful for the information. His words about Diva had touched her, but her resolve didn't change. Her promise to end Diva's life and then her own remained. At least now she knew she wouldn't have to worry about Riku being hurt in the coming fight.

Turning to leave, he glanced back at her a final time. "If you see Riku before I do, let him know that I am grateful to him for what he told me, and that now I can face my future without regret or self pity." With that he leaped away. Despite himself, he smiled a bit as he listened to the fading conversation of Lulu apologizing for not doing better in the fight and Saya trying to reassure her. He was glad to have been part of this family, if only for a brief moment. _Goodbye, Saya…_

--

A short time later, Solomon's predicted fate was coming true. He was finding it harder and harder to move. However, this didn't keep him from noticing a new presence near him and he wasn't all that surprised to see Amshel had somehow located him.

Forcing back the warm feelings he still held for the man who had been his brother for so long, he charged at him. "I may not be able to stop Diva for Saya, but I can at least die striking you down!"

Amshel didn't move as Solomon stabbed his sword arm at his chest, only to have the crystallizing blade shatter ineffectually against him. "Fool of a chevalier…" he muttered in a near-pitying tone.

Solomon started to collapse forward, and was somewhat surprised when Amshel's arms extended to support him in a partial embrace. He had to admit, he was glad for the contact, even if it was with someone who had caused him and others so much pain. He could no longer fight. All he had now were words, and he would use them to the very end to try to get through to his adopted brother. "She deserves better big brother… they both do…"

Amshel barely glanced at him. "What nonsense are you saying now?"

"I can die in peace, knowing I did all I could and that others will take my place in the fight. I sought to end Diva's life because I believed she could not be freed of her hate, and tonight I saw the wretched fate of someone who died full of hate and despair. And yet, this same night someone showed me that redemption and dignity need not ever be out of reach. Release her Amshel, release Diva. If you truly care about her then you will let her find her own place in the world, a place outside of being a tool for your ambitions."

"My ambitions will change this world," Amshel replied with conviction, compelled to defend himself from such a serious condemnation of his plans. "It will be remade in Diva's image as a testament to my will. Long ago I was forced by Saya to share Diva with the world rather than keep her for myself. So I will give Diva to this unworthy world on my terms. My legacy will be in everything she touches, a world of chiropterans ruled by Diva but orchestrated by my hand. My value will be in leaving Diva as the being I have made her to be. Until then I will continue to discover all I can about just what she is and what she can do."

"Then you are condemned to die…" Solomon stated with finality, "empty and unfulfilled."

"As are you," Amshel mocked.

Solomon could feel his heart struggling to beat as it crystallized, his face hardening to the point that he could barely move his lips. His speech slowed and faltered, but he managed a slight smile, his eyes moistening as he thought back to Riku's resolute face and Saya's appreciative smile. "No- I- have- found- a- place- in- their- hearts."

"To find comfort in being remembered fondly by those you leave behind… what value is there in that… my foolish brother…"

"Much-" _Much more than it seems you will ever know, my pitiable brother…_

Solomon's smile remained etched in stone, a remnant tear falling from each eye. Within his dying mind his final living thoughts meandered, time seeming to stretch on, a lifetime of memories streaming through his mind in but a flash.

_I am glad Saya… glad to have helped you, glad to have loved you, even if you could never return it. I know that you love her as truly as I ever did, Haji… please do what I could not and love her as she deserves to be._

_Riku… if anyone can save Diva I know it is you… show her hope in deepest darkness, as you showed me._

_Karl… my friend… I hope I can see you again… in a better world…_

Amshel remained there, unmoving, for some time. Feelings he had thought long dead and discarded threatening to reemerge. Then, in a single motion he banished them back to the recesses of his mind, stepping aside and allowing Solomon's body to fall and shatter upon the street. He did not look back.

"I have long been prepared to sacrifice humanity for the sake of seeing Diva's potential," he whispered to himself. "It is just as well that he is dead, for he was the only one in this world who could make me feel any doubt in my cause…"

Yes, he reasoned. It was just as well. Now all he had left in the world was Diva, and it didn't matter. For soon, the world itself would be filled with Diva's power. The world, the future, was Diva.

-- _later_

Nathan sighed from his seat, "So it's just me and Amshel now."

"So what?" Diva asked, not even bothering to look up from petting her cocoons.

Nathan looked a bit surprised but soon regained his passive expression. "Doesn't it make you sad at all?"

Diva continued to stroke the cocoons, barely sparing him a glance. "I have my babies, Riku is mine as well. I need nothing else. After all, Solomon betrayed me, and James was starting to get as annoying and obsessive as Karl was. They're nothing to me, and now all I want is to think about my babies."

Her eyes softened, "I will be a good mother. I will sing for them after they are born and I will give them all that they deserve. They will have everything I did not. I will never leave them alone in the dark and cold."

Nathan seemed touched by her words. "How unusual," he remarked casually, "for you to care about or want to do anything for someone else."

Diva seemed to mull his words over in her head for a bit. "That is true…" she pondered the strange feeling. "I wonder why it is… when I see these children, I just kind of feel that way… like I want to protect them and give them everything. I feel that way sometimes when I'm with Riku too…"

"If feelings like that are awakening in you then it would seem they are the family you've been seeking after all," he stated, pleased with the warm, for her at least, smile Diva was showing.

The queen nodded and stared at her cocoons in adoration. "In this world, of all those who have known who I really am, there have only been those who knelt before me and those who tried to kill me. Riku has been neither, for through him I have gained these children and together they give me something else entirely. I wonder… just what kind of world they will create…"

"Perhaps a world ruled by chiropterans?" Nathan remarked sarcastically. "That's what Amshel hopes, but you know how I feel about that."

"Yes, you think it's ridiculous," she remarked with a knowing look and giggle. "I don't really care either way, so long as my babies are safe."

"I am sure Amshel will ensure that."

"Perhaps…" Diva said with a skeptical look, "but Amshel will also no doubt wish to use them for his own little games and once I fall asleep I won't be able to make sure he treats them correctly."

"Well that's perhaps not until a year from now, given how you woke up so much later than Saya. Plenty of time to figure something out. Besides, Riku will protect them, as will I if need be."

"Will he?" Diva stated more than asked, some skepticism in her tone.

"Well," Nathan replied, "just as your parental instincts have awakened so have his. It may not be certain that he will follow them but even without them he is not someone who would let harm come to infants."

"And what about you Nathan," Diva said, largely ignoring the remarks on Riku, whose loyalty she preferred to not think about, "just what do you plan to do in all of this?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Diva's expression turned ominous. "You and I are the only ones who know the truth about you aren't we?

Nathan's expression turned serious for a moment but then loosened again as he shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps… though I think Amshel suspects something."

Diva continued, "I never gave you my blood, nor did you ever have Saya's," she remarked, "and yet here you are. You sought me out and asked to serve me as if you were my chevalier and you have stayed ever since. Why though… just what do you want?"

Nathan leaned back and smiled slightly. "To see the play of your life to its very end, and Saya's as well. You might say I am an observer more than anything else. I might poke and prod you and the others along one or more paths, but largely I am on my own side."

"So I cannot trust you," Diva stated.

"I suppose not, though we both know Diva that you don't truly trust anyone," he pointed out.

For a moment Diva was silent in thought. "Yes… until now… now I want to trust these babies, and I want to trust Riku." A smile came to her lips as she thought about her lover, resting back in their room from her recent feeding. "When I kill Saya Riku will be sad, but eventually he'll see it was for the best. Then we'll have the rest of our lives to live with my babies."

"Perhaps…" Nathan trailed off, not daring to argue with her further. He didn't want to ruin the good mood she was in as he quite enjoyed the sight of her so happy. _Though I doubt my dear that things will go as you plan. Nothing in life ever goes exactly the way we think it will._

Diva picked up the cocoons, intending to head back to her room and sleep there with her family arrayed about her upon the bed. Yes, she thought to herself, Riku and her babies. They were all she needed to be satisfied. No one would take them from her, least of all Saya.

**Notes:**

Well let this be a Christmas present for all those who have been waiting for it. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. I certainly didn't want this to take as long as it did, but a general lack of energy, college classes, manga obsessions and procrastination do not make for fast writing.

But the light at the end of the tunnel is visible now. For next chapter is the grand climax and I hope you won't be disappointed. Much of it has already been written in fact as events from it were some of my first major inspirations in writing this story.

I'm sorry to Solomon fans who may have been hoping he'd survive in my tale, but it simply didn't serve the purposes of my story. Instead I wanted to show more deeply what may have been going through Solomon's mind during all this and give him some closure. Hopefully I was successful in this as well as the way I included Riku's pep talk. Solomon obviously didn't need it in the anime so I tried to make it clear that the despair he felt in that dungeon was due to the situation rather than him truly giving up. He would have gone to help Saya even if Riku had not come, Riku'' talk just gave him a better outlook on things.

The explanation for how Nathan came to be with Diva without revealing who he really was is my own invention but it made the most sense to me. Diva after all would be the one who would really know if he had been turned by her blood or not and I can see them keeping it from Amshel.

Lastly, the chapter title and James' words about Solomon's convictions are a reference and subversion to the saying "blood is thicker than water," which refers to family (blood ties) as being more important or stronger than non-blood bonds (those with friends and lovers).


	7. Chapter 7: Sympathy for the Diva

Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue

--

Part 7: Sympathy for the Diva

--

Back in her and Riku's room Diva twirled in front of a full-length mirror, proudly inspecting the dark gown with small bat-like wings she would wear to the big performance. She knew she would be wearing something else more formal when she first arrived at the opera house and would change into this for her actual stage time but she couldn't resist a early peak at how she would look that night.

It was finally time and she needed to be ready. She knew big things would happen tonight, one way or another and the potential prospects excited her. Her song would change the world but it was not the creation of so many chiropterans or the fall of mankind that interested her, she couldn't care less about Amshel's grand designs. Rather she was looking forward to the promises Amshel had made about what this new world would be like.

For in the world to come she would be able to move about freely. No more disguising what she was, no more hiding from Saya and Red Shield, no more running from one part of the world to another. Saya would face her tonight she had no doubt, and when she won Diva would be free to a future of unlimited possibilities. All she had to do was sing and at last strike that fatal blow on Saya.

But to do that she needed to focus. She didn't need to worry about her babies, she trusted Nathan would look after them if only for the sake of the show going as planned. However, there was one other matter to attend to, one that she could currently feel staring at her with great intensity. She looked at him over her shoulder and flashed a bright smile but he didn't react. She could already tell she wouldn't be able to easily get his mind off this issue this time.

"So you're really going?" Riku asked in a sad but serious tone, already knowing the answer.

"Of course," she replied matter-of-factly and turned to face him. "What do you think, do I look good?" she asked as she presented herself in the dress.

Riku sighed in exasperation. "You always look good… anyway, that's not the point. Diva do you really understand what you told me about what you're going to do? It will be like when you sang at the military base but worse! Please, I'm begging you, don't go through with this!"

She turned away to face the mirror again. "Riku, do you really care so much about people you'll never know or see?"

"But I do know you!" he cried out and hugged her tightly from the back, eliciting a shocked gasp from Diva. "I know you… I know you better than anyone else, you said so yourself! Somewhere inside you know this isn't right. I don't want to see you suffering more Diva and you will if you do this! Diva, if you just listen to me I know I can help you!"

For a time Diva was silent as he held her, her face shadowed. "That is such a sweet thing to say… it really is… it makes me want to believe you… but I _can't _believe you."

Riku gasped at how suddenly her tone had darkened and felt her muscles tighten under his embrace. He could no longer hold on, Diva breaking free of his grip and turning about to snatch him by the neck and hold him off the ground.

She proceeded to slam him into the wall with noticeable force, her eyes glowing malevolently. "That's because I know it's for them, for _her_! You still love Saya, love her more than me! She's the reason you're saying those things to me, you just want to protect her!"

Diva was beginning to cry despite her anger, and the sight of it was causing Riku more pain than her grip on his throat. "Diva-"

"Why?!" she cried, her eyes brimming with tears. "Why do you still care about her?! You should love me! Only me! Don't you see Riku?! Saya had her chance! She's already lived happy and content without a care in the world, twice now in fact. First with Joel, then with you! It's my turn to have that life! I deserve it! I deserve it as much as she ever did, more than she ever did!"

Panting a bit from her outburst Diva hung her head, her sorrow and anger seething together, her eyes shadowed. "But as long as Saya lives, as long as the humans rule this world, I will be hunted and I will never have the life I want," she stated with barely-contained rage. "I don't care a bit about filling the world with Amshel's stupid chiropterans, but doing that and killing Saya will give me the future I've wanted for as long as I can remember. I will be free, my babies will be free. No one will ever lock us away in the dark again, never alone and starving again! Why can't you understand that?!"

She fully broke down into tears, releasing his neck only to cling to his body desperately. Riku hugged her back, caressing her, soothing her until her cries softened. His head against her shoulder, he sighed, trying again to reason with her, more gently this time. "I do understand," he whispered, "I've seen and felt your memories so many times so how could I not understand? I know how angry, confused and sad you are inside, I just wish… I just wish you would trust me when I say that killing Saya and going along with Amshel's plan won't make things better. They'll only get worse and there will be no going back."

"How do you know?!" she cried back, pushing him away and stomping over to a window. "How could you know that things will be worse? You thought you would never want to be with me but you were wrong about that so why not this too?" She turned back to him, a bit of fear and uncertainty in her features. "You… you do want to be with me, don't you Riku?"

Riku hoped his own confusion over that issue didn't show too much. "I… I want to help you Diva, I don't want you to be alone anymore and I care about you. But if you really do go through with this, if you kill Saya and make chiropterans ruin the world, there's just no way… no way I could stay with you." He steeled his will. "If you're really going to go through with this then you should just kill me now."

Diva was shocked still but only for a moment as her lips lifted in a smile and she giggled. Eerie laughter followed only to suddenly stop as her form blurred, her burst of speed putting her right in front of Riku, who after seeing this so many time was only mildly surprised. She wrapped her arms around him and stared into his eyes. "Oh Riku… my sweet, silly, little Riku… remember back when I held you on the ship? You were so afraid, but I got rid of your fear, I made you see you wanted me just as bad as I wanted you. I still want you, I guess I always will… I'm addicted to you Riku… so there's no way I could ever kill you now."

"Things have changed so much since then…" she remarked, reminiscing as she idly ran her fingers through his hair and caressed his face, "I've changed… now when I hold you like this, I feel so many good things I never used to feel. Somehow you've changed me Riku. You make me feel like I don't want to kill or hurt anyone… I guess that is what it means to feel at peace. And when I feel that, I want to just run away from everything in this life, with you and my babies, and just start over again."

"Then why can't we?" he pleaded. Whatever few misgivings he had about his feelings for Diva he knew he could be satisfied with a future like that if it saved everyone. "We'd be together, I'd protect our babies, you'd never need to feel alone again. We can just walk away, so why not?"

"Because Saya won't let that happen," Diva replied with no emotion. "She'll never stop hunting me, neither will Red Shield or any of the others that want me dead. This is my chance to end it Riku, to end this stupid war and win."

Riku now refused to meet her eyes, only glaring downward as he struggled to think of something, anything he could say to dissuade Diva. He even considered fighting her, but knew he had no chance of winning.

"Everything will be different after tonight, better too. You'll see Riku, you'll see that I'm right," she continued, forcing a smile even as her words hesitated. Why was Riku making this so hard for her? "When Saya is dead… when she's finally dead she won't be able to distract you anymore. You'll see that you're meant to love me more than you ever could her. You'll see that I can make you happier than she ever did. With her gone Kai may even come to his senses and join us. Wouldn't that be wonderful? It would be just like what you had with Saya but better! You would have a brother, a lover, and two daughters."

Diva frowned as Riku still refused to look at her, but then the predatory gleam in her eyes returned and she proceeded to trace a hand over his chest. Stalking behind him she rubbed his shoulders a bit, then began to whisper into his ear as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "And if you really are so worried about me Riku… then I'll gladly take some of your strength for tonight."

Riku's eyes widened as he realized what she was about to do. "Diva don't-"

It was too late. His words were lost as she bit into his neck and began to suck on him with a passion. Despite his efforts not to Riku couldn't help but moan in pleasure. Why did it have to feel so _damn _good!? He tried to argue with her, to form words of protest and reasoning, only to be interrupted again and again by the spasms of pleasure-induced sounds from his own mouth as she drained him. He struggled under her stronger grip, his legs thrashing in the air ineffectually as the struggles only seemed to arouse them both more, but increasingly his thoughts became clouded and the sleepiness he knew to associate with lack of blood started upon him. At last Diva withdrew her fangs and carried his limp body across the room.

She laid him out on the bed gently, Riku too weak to get up. "For luck…" she whispered in his ear then kissed him full on the mouth for a good while, leaving the taste of his own blood in his mouth.

They separated and Diva's eyes narrowed at his sad expression. "Don't look at me like that. You'll see the truth Riku, I know you will. Everything will be wonderful and fun soon." She laid a glass of blood closer to the bed for him to reach once he recovered a bit.

"Diva…" he whispered, trying to stave off unconsciousness. "You say you believe you'll make a good world for our babies… a world where they'll be safe… but what if I'm right? What if the world does end up being more terrible and lonely than it was before?"

"Then I'll just change it again," Diva replied, now midway across the room, pausing before she left. "And I'll keep changing it, until a world where I can live with my babies does come."

Riku closed his eyes even as they welled with tears. Diva was gone from the room, along with his chance of stopping her. The hope he had hung onto all this time seemed to have finally escaped him. He had never felt so useless, so powerless. And so he cried. He cried for his sister, for his brother, for Lewis, for David, the Schiff and for Julia…

Most of all, he cried for Diva.

--

Traffic ensured that the ride to the opera house would take a bit of time and so Amshel had expected Diva to pass the boredom with her typical nonsensical banter. Instead all was silent as he watched her from his seat across from her in the limousine and observed the subtle changes in her expression and the way her eyes betrayed her thoughts as being elsewhere.

"My queen," he spoke at last, "Are you feeling well? You appear… distracted."

Diva spared him little more than a glance as she stared out the window at the passing multitudes of people on the streets, her hand on her chin. So many people… in the past she had rarely taken any real notice of them, now though she was paying attention to their faces, the way they smiled and laughed and spoke. The more she watched, the more the sick feeling inside her she had come to know as guilt grew. But no, it was silly to feel that way. Those people didn't matter, at least not compared to her. That was the truth wasn't it? It had always been the truth. But why was it the truth? She wasn't sure she had ever really wondered that before, after all the self-centered worldview Amshel offered her was too appealing to question for a girl who had been treated most of her life as if she did not matter.

"Tell me Amshel," she began, "why is my life more important than everyone else's?

Amshel paused, having not suspected such a question, but only for a moment before replying smoothly, "because, your race is stronger, and you are the strongest of that race. The processes of evolution invariably create new dominate species to replace old ones, and humanity has become just that. An old species that has reached the pinnacle of its potential and now must slip away to be dominated and replaced by the chiropteran."

"But I was not always strong…" she stated, dismissing the rest of what he said as Amshel's typical boring babble.

"Nonetheless, your potential was infinitely greater," Amshel replied. "That you were denied expressing that potential for so long does not change that. For you are greater than the sum of humanity, greater than even your sister Saya."

Now Diva looked at him as Saya's name struck a chord in her heart. "You say that I am better, that only I could change the world like this. Still, if Saya had been born in my place, lived as I did, I am quite sure she could have become just like me."

Amshel was becoming irritated at this conversation. Why now of all times did she start questioning the way of thinking that he had instilled in her? Was it that boy Riku's doing?

"That's one reason I can't forgive her for wanting to kill me. Why does Saya want to kill me? Does she think she's better than me? Why is she still trying after so many years?"

The new question was one Amshel was quick to steer in a way that he hoped would remove any second thoughts Diva might be having. "Saya is motivated by her hatred for you and her own foolish sense of guilt. Like all of us she ultimately seeks her own self-interest before others. What Saya wants is to be rid of her guilt over freeing you and believes killing you can do that and bring her peace. In Saya's mind, it would have been better for you to remain locked away or to simply not live at all."

"So she is being selfish just like everyone else, thinking only about herself just like everyone else…" Diva smirked as she spoke, liking Amshel's reasoning. "Well I won't give her the satisfaction of getting her way. I deserve to be free. Stupid humans… would have killed themselves off before too long anyway," she finished as though convincing herself.

"Indeed," Amshel agreed. "We are only advancing the hands of evolution a small degree, to prepare a new age with a new, superior race. A race that you will mother, a race that will inherit all the riches of this world."

Diva leaned back and shut her eyes, slipping into a daydream of the bright future Amshel spoke of.

Unseen by her Amshel allowed the slightest of a smirk to show on his face, satisfied that Diva was again fully under his influence.

--

It was finally time, it was the night he'd been anticipating and dreading for some time now. Okamura had much to consider as he took his seat near Joel and looked down upon the gathering audience below. More than likely this night he would experience perhaps the most news-worthy event of his life, albeit it seemed likely that it would be a log time, if ever, before he'd be able to release the story to the general public and have it believed. Still, he could dream.

It certainly helped stem the worrying. At least Mao had stayed behind, relatively safe. He was surprised at how fond and protective he had grown to feel for the strong-willed yakuza princess. He also felt fairly confident that he could handle her criminal family members easily after dealing with chiropterans for so long. It was strange how new perspectives can change a guy.

Then again, he decided he had best not think too far ahead. Better to focus on his survival tonight, survival that was not guaranteed even with his chiropteran and Red Shield allies around. What he knew of the plan seemed simple enough. He and Joel would observe things, report on events, and try to not get directly involved, while the Schiff and Red Shield would focus on handling any unexpected opposition. Haji and Saya would then be free to confront Diva.

Speaking of whom, there was the seemingly young lady in question. Diva had appeared on stage. It was hard for him to believe this boyish, frail-looking girl was the cause of so much trouble, but even from a distance there was something about her eyes and haunting voice that made him feel uneasy.

_All right guys… think it's about time you jammed that satellite…_

However, plans rarely go smoothly. Unknown to Okamura, even as Diva began to sing and Lewis responded by disabling the satellite connection, military satellite vans took their place and continued transmission. Meanwhile the blood bath began as audience members transformed into artificial chiropterans and attacked others in the audience as they began to flee. General chaos erupted even as our heroic team quickly adjusted their plan, Red Shield and the Schiff separating into two groups. One would go to destroy the vans while the other would fight the artificial chiropterans and get as much of the audience out of the building at they could. As for Saya and Haji, they had been sidetracked by Amshel, disguised as Diva. Once his ruse was revealed Haji took over the fight, taking on his true form while Amshel transformed himself into his monstrous true body.

And all the while, oblivious to it all, Diva continued to sing, her mind lost in the fantasies of the world to come, the life she craved and dreamed of. A world for herself, her babies, and Riku.

--

Back at the mansion, after emptying the large glass of blood she had left him Riku had fully recovered from Diva's blood drain, but he was in no better spirits. He clenched his fists in frustration as he looked at himself in a mirror. "Agh! I can't just sit here and cry while everybody dies!"

He glared about the room. He had failed in his attempt to pick the lock on the room's door and bars Diva had installed on the windows (per Amshell's persuasive request) kept him from escaping that way as well. He may have been stronger than a normal boy his size and frame but getting out of the room still seemed beyond his ability.

He looked around for what seemed the thousandth time, thinking hard. _There has got to be something I can do... I'm still alive, I promised myself I'd stay alive for a reason. I promised myself I'd keep trying to save Diva and everyone else until the very end!_

He lowered his head and sighed, flopping back onto the bed. "But maybe this is the end… Through all this… I've never been strong enough… I've never been able to do anything… I just tagged along, got in the way or got used. All this time and I still can't do anything!"

"Damn it!" he uncharacteristically swore, "I don't want to be the victim anymore, I want to do something to help! If I don't… then going through all this would have been pointless!" He sat up, clenched his fists and slammed them on the floor as he fell to his knees, his eyes shut tightly, tears brimming at their edges. Here he released over a year of pent-up frustration, anger and sadness as he vented his feelings to the empty room.

"Please! Just once! I need to be strong!"

He felt his blood begin racing like never before, something inside him waking up, changing in response to his emotions.

"I need to be strong!"

He repeated the mantra, his voice growing stronger, fiercer.

"I need to be strong!"

His emotions overflowed, and with them came thoughts of those important to him.

"I have to protect them!"

There was still so much that could be saved. If he only had the strength.

"I have to protect them all!"

Kai, Saya, Haji… and Diva… somehow Diva most of all.

"I need to be strong!"

Sharp pains exploded from his back and hands. He could hear and feel the back of his shirt ripping. Somehow he ignored it all and heightened his lament.

"**I NEED TO BE STRONG!!!"**

His final cry resounded so forcefully that much of the glass in the room cracked or shattered. He was left panting, feeling utterly overwhelmed and defeated. Until that is he looked up and spotted his reflection in shard of glass nearby. He crept closer and stared at the image in awe.

He had changed. His hair was a bit longer and wilder where it had been so neatly combed. His eyes were now red, his pupils shaped like a cat's. His hands had altered, looking now rather like Haji's chiropteran hand, albeit bigger in proportion to his body. Haji had been his role model as a chevalier and he wondered if this was why he had such hands. He tried to stand and immediately swayed about as he lost his balance, the reason being the two large, leathery wings that had sprouted from his back. The second try was more successful and he carefully walked to a cracked but intact mirror nearby. By the time he was in front of it his balance issues had ended.

"My… my body?" he gasped at the sound of his own voice, now somewhat deeper and stronger.

He looked at his hands, his mind racing to comprehend it all. He imagined his hand returning to normal and within seconds it had. Deciding to go with the flow he imagined the clawed hand again and it transformed back. This time there was no pain, only the odd sensation of his bones, muscles and ligaments reshaping themselves. It seems the transformation only hurt the first time.

He could feel his wings now like any other part of his body and within a few tries could control their movements as easily as his feet when walking. It was as though he had always had them. Like his hands he could turn the transformation off, the wings merging back into his flesh, then sprout them again seconds later.

He stretched his wings to their full span, marveling at the sheer feeling of power that flowed through his body. He felt perfectly in tune with his environment, aware of everything and stronger than he had ever imagined. He walked over to a barred window and with only a bit of effort ripped the bars clear off.

Yes… this was the strength he had longed for, the strength his powerful heart had at last brought out. Perhaps that meant that, in a way, he always had been strong deep inside. His resolve set anew, he searched his senses for the slightest hint of Diva's presence and oriented his body toward it. These wings of his weren't for decoration and it was time he took a leap of faith, hoping that his instincts would continue to tell him what he needed to know to use this body.

"I'm coming Diva, everyone… please be alive."

--

The background chaos had quieted when Saya emerged onto the stage, the audience members either having transformed into chiropterans, been killed, or escaped to other parts of the opera house or outside. She took little notice of the blond chevalier in the audience and the two odd bundles he held. Everything seemed surreal, her surroundings clearly inspired by the tower Diva had been imprisoned in so many years ago. Even as she considered this, Diva made her appearance.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it? Nathan made this stage," she said, indicating to the smiling chevalier watching them from his seat. "He had some silly idea about things ending where they began or something like that."

Saya's gaze hardened, she wasn't here for idle talk. "Diva…"

The girl in question seemed unperturbed by Saya's seriousness. "You're here to kill me, aren't you, my sister?" she stated more than asked.

"It's all I can do, and it's what I must do." She tightened the grip on her sword. "You've spread far too much suffering."

For a moment Diva simply stared at her, then her calm, coy expression faltered, saddening. "Suffering? You're not being fair Saya… you don't understand me or why I am this way, not really anyway. I mean how could you understand? After all, back then you were the one, the only one ever treated like a human, the only one who was loved… but then maybe that is why I can't understand you either."

Saya's glare intensified. She wasn't here to debate their pasts. The time for that had ended long ago and there was no going back. Yes Diva had suffered greatly, but that hardly absolved her, or Saya herself for that matter, of her crimes. "Talking like this is pointless. I only want you to tell me one thing."

Diva smiled brightly at this. "It's about my little Riku right?" Saya's expression now grew very angry, her eyes shining to match her blood-coated blade.

"Well then," Diva's calm face changed to an angry, taunting smirk. She drew her rapier.

"If you want me to tell you…"

She made a small cut and coated the sword with her own blood before pointing it at Saya, eyes glowing a malevolent blue. Her boyish 'Riku' guise fell away in an instant to reveal her alluring true form.

"_Make me_."

The two queens proceeded to become blurs of motion, their speed too quick for the human eye to follow, sparks from their clashing blades flying about the stage and ripping through whatever was in their path.

--

Kai took a few breaths as he tried to calm himself, breathing slowly and deeply as Irene had taught him. The events of the evening had had increasingly strong effects on him. Diva's singing had stirred the beast within his chiropteran blood and it was hard at first not to give in to the bloodlust as he fought and simply attack everything in sight. Furthermore, the singing had heightened his awareness of Diva and his connection to her. He could sense where she was, and felt compelled to go to her.

Yet he'd steadfastly ignored both impulses, fearful that if he actually confronted Diva in this state she might take control of him. He doubted it was possible but he didn't want to risk it, and so he and Irene had kept a distance from the main room of the opera house. They, along with Moses had spread out around the building and focused on fighting the artificial chiropterans, giving survivors from the audience a better chance to escape. Karman and Lulu had headed off to cover David and Lewis as they disabled the military satellite connection broadcasting Diva's song.

Suddenly he felt a new surge of bloodlust and stopped in his tracks, overcome by the feelings of aggression he was receiving. There was only one explanation for it. Diva and Saya must have begun their fight.

He stood, dazed and lost in his thoughts, unaware as one of the remaining chiropterans got back on its feet and lunged at his head, only to lose its own head to a powerful slash from Irene's sword.

"I know its hard but you can't let yourself get distracted," she admonished him in a tone that was more concerned than judgmental.

Kai just gaped, now distracted, and somewhat disgusted, by how alluring his body was finding Irene to be at the sight of her covered in the blood sprayed from the chiropteran's neck. However, the bloodlust then rose again and he shut his eyes, cringing at the intensity of it. Slowly adjusting, he managed to open his eyes and looked to Irene, her hand on his shoulder in concern.

"You can feel it too?" she asked.

Kai nodded grimly. Of course Irene would have sensed all this too. Her sensory abilities were exceptional even among chevalier. "It's getting really intense in there. I wish I could help her."

Irene nodded, her expression soft and compassionate. It was now Kai who was the more aware and his eyes widened at the sight of two chiropterans racing toward them, one on each side. "Get down!" he cried out, holding Irene close to him and ducking down to avoid a swipe from one of the creature's massive hands.

A moment later the sounds of ripping fabric were followed by two large, armor-encased wings shaped somewhat like huge-webbed hands sprouting from his back. One wing caught the second oncoming chiropteran's slash with a thud and the sound of claws scraping against armor, while the other wing pressed itself against the first chiropteran. Using the clawed ends of the wings to grip, he proceeded to push the two chiropteran away and off balance while at the same time pushing himself and Irene out of attack range. He had learned to bring out his wings only a short while before this night and while they were not much good for flying, for he was slower and more vulnerable in the air than other chevalier, they did make for excellent defense, being able to shield larger areas than his hand armor could.

Irene gave him a quick thanks before sprinting at the closest chiropteran to behead it in short order. Kai braced himself as the other chiropteran charged into him. One fist blocking any damage, he slid to the side of the blow and pushed enough to send the monster off balance so that it stumbled and crashed onto the floor. No sooner had this been done than he had clamped down on the creature's neck to keep it down and grasped its head with his other massive hand. He forced back the sick feeling in his stomach as he spotted the bits of torn clothing that still clung to the creature and identified it as having once been a human woman.

"Damn it!" he yelled, beheading the beast with a powerful twist and pull resulting in another shower of blood, "Why did it come to this?"

---

As for Saya and Diva, their fight as yet had been quite even, with only various tears to their garments from near-misses as damage. Which was just as well considering that the smallest cut from either blood-coated blade would likely be all that it took to end one of the sister's lives. Diva lacked Saya's experience, grace and poise with a sword but her greater experience with her chiropteran reflexes nullified the advantage Saya's sword skills may have given her in other circumstances.

Their swords clashed again and Saya bared her fangs as she pressed against Diva with all her strength, the blades groaning under the pressure, threatening to snap. "What have you done with Riku?!"

"Don't you mean 'what haven't I done with him?'" Diva answered back with a wry smirk as she licked her lips. "I will say I'm pretty sure I've done things with him you never would have."

This enraged Saya all the more and with an angry yell she pushed her sister back. Diva regained her footing and leaped aside as Saya charged her with another slash that seemed to cut through the very air.

Diva landed, panting heavily. She was not used to exerting so much effort for so long. As they faced each other rain began falling from the hole in the roof Haji and Amshel had left when their fight took to the sky. "Do you hate me for taking your chevalier away from you?" she taunted again once she had got her breath back. "Is that why you got even by taking Solomon from me?"

Saya paused in surprise for a moment. "What are you talking about? Solomon left you on his own!"

Diva's playful expression again changed, now to an angry glare to match her sister's. "He left because he wanted to be with you, even though he belonged to me. And I know you must have enjoyed it, having him follow you around like a little puppy begging for your acceptance and fighting against the one who he was supposed to protect. It must have made you feel like you were so much better than me to turn him against me so easily!"

"Don't confuse me with you!" Saya shot back. "I value Solomon as a friend, can you say that about Riku?"

"You have no idea how much I value Riku!" Diva said in a tone so sharp that it gave Saya pause. "He's given me so much of what I've wanted for so long… But who are you to talk about caring?!" Diva was finding it harder to keep her cool, now seeming to be as angry as Saya was. "Do you even know where Solomon is?"

"Why, are you telling me you know?!" Saya asked, exasperated by all the talking.

"Of course I know," Diva scoffed at her. "Even disowned he was still my chevalier so I know. I know that he's dead. He died the same night James did. And it was by your sword."

Below in the audience seats watching the fight alongside Nathan, Haji bowed his head in shame, now wishing he had told Saya about Solomon's cut earlier. He had kept it from her because it had seemed to be Solomon's wish and he had wanted to spare her some pain, but her finding out like this was worse.

Saya was in disbelief. "No… he must have cut himself somehow…" she mumbled as she recalled the way her sword had fallen in front of him. "I didn't… he seemed okay when he left so I never thought…"

"Not that it really mattered to me by then," Diva continued. "Solomon was good as dead to me the moment he decided he'd rather care about you than me."

"He cared about you too Diva," Saya asserted, barely holding back her tears at the death of another friend. "He cared about you more than you could understand. Remember what he tried to do back at The Zoo? If he had things his way we'd all live together in peace."

"Yeah…" Diva agreed, her eyes lost in thought. "He was kind of like Riku in that way… as if I could forgive and forget all that has happened between us. We both know it's impossible for either of us."

Saya's voice trembled with barely restrained emotion. "Yes… but not because of how much I hate you, but because I've known for a long time," she began breathing hard, "the chiropteran race… it has no future!"

"And what is that supposed to mean!? You're the one with no future!" Diva readied to charge her only to notice Saya's change in stance and the way she was panting. She studied her for a moment more then smirked with glee.

"What's wrong Saya?" she asked in a pitying tone as she circled her sister, looking for an opening to strikes as Saya struggled to keep her guard up. "You're looking tired. You don't have a lot of time left before you fall asleep again do you? But I woke up long after you did so I'm still wide-awake. You really think you can win like this?"

Saya's eyes flared with resolve once more. "I have to. Diva… my sister. From the day I let you out I've wanted to die, but not before I did something to atone and so I've lived to kill you, to end both our miserable lives, to end chiropterans forever. Don't you understand that? This is about making things right. We shouldn't have ever been born in the first place."

"So that's it? You think we shouldn't exist?" Diva questioned. "Then what about my babies," she indicated to the bundles with Nathan, "my and _Riku's _babies? Are you going to kill them too?"

Saya's expression wavered at this, her eyes pained and unsure. Finally she said in a quiet voice, "If it keeps this from happening again then yes… yes I will."

"I see… so that's how it is," Diva stated, her eyes flaring blue. "But I won't let you take them or my Riku."

Both of them proceeded to rip off the portions of their dresses that had been torn during the fight, so that they could move as freely as possible. As they faced each other for a final joust each sister charged headlong, holding nothing back and no longer even trying to guard themselves. There was a silent understanding between them that this attack would be the one to end it.

Then, suddenly, a figure landed between them. Neither could stop her thrusts in time but instead of being skewered the figure caught the hilts of the blades in each hand and held fast, the blades crossing each other in front of him with a metallic ping. Diva stared in confusion at the figure who had interrupted the duel while Saya simply gasped in shock at the sight of him.

"Riku!?"

---

"What the hell is going on down there?!" Okamura exclaimed from the balcony seating that he and Joel had been observing the fight from. "Why'd they stop fighting, and isn't that guy with wings the kid Diva took?"

Joel was silent at first, apparently in deep though, before finally looking at the reporter. "Mr. Okamura, do you think you could help me get down there? I believe I may be able to help."

Okamura stared at him in disbelief. "What? Help how?"

He was already moving to exit the balcony, checking briefly to see if any of the artificial chiropterans were wandering nearby. He looked back from the wheelchair. "In many ways this nightmare began with the first Joel. It is only fitting that a Joel be one to help end it. I believe Riku might give me the chance to do just that."

Okamura sighed and rolled his eyes as he got up to follow. "Yeah… that explains everything…"

---

With Haji beside him and the infant's cocoons still bundled in his arms, Nathan watched what he considered his ultimate drama with a new interest. "So now a new player has arrived to twist the plot in a new direction… what a most unexpected bonus. Isn't it exciting Haji?"

Haji ignored him, staring intently at his brother chevalier's new appearance. He was pleased to see the boy apparently unharmed, but disturbed at his interference. This was the final battle between Saya and Diva and he, like Nathan, had decided to let them decide it on their own. He considered taking him from the scene but thought better of it. The boy had to have a reason for his actions.

Even with his enhanced strength Riku had been left shaking from the strain of stopping Saya and Diva's stabs by holding fast to the dull edges of the blades. He looked to his sister, their red eyes meeting briefly before he turned his back to the eyes she knew. He gave her an apologetic look, wishing their reunion had been under different circumstances, before his expression turned serious. "Saya, this has to stop!" his voice had returned to his regular tone but seemed more confident and intimidating.

"Riku… what… what are you doing here?" Saya's own eyes dulled back to their normal color, her mind too unsettled to maintain her battle spirit. Her first instinct was to take him into her arms, hug him and never let go. Yet the situation hardly allowed for that. She slowly took in her brother's changed appearance. He looked slightly taller and more muscular, due largely to the presence of two large wings on his back and chiropteran hands whose enhanced structures extended partially up his arms. His hair was a bit longer and wilder, dripping wet from the rain outside, his shirt torn along the back. All in all he looked older despite not aging. More than that, his eyes showed a confidence and maturity far beyond what he had possessed when she last saw him. Her main thoughts though centered on her confusion as to why he was defending Diva.

Diva had been similarly shocked but now looked at Riku with apparent displeasure. "Riku _dear_," she said in a voice so sweet it was clearly faked, "I told you to stay back at the house." She then briefly eyed him up and down, her anger fading, "though I must say, you look so _manly_ now, I want to feel your wings…" Her tone and the look of her wry smirk were enough to make Saya feel distinctly uncomfortable.

"Not _now_ Diva," Riku said sternly despite the slight blush on his face as Diva reached for one of his wings with her free hand. He pushed said hand aside, giving Diva the most authoritative glare he could muster. "I mean it!"

Neither Diva or Saya let go of their weapons but eyed each other warily before looking at Riku again in confusion. Diva pouted and wrenched her blade from Riku's grip before stepping back and lowering the sword. Seeing the fight had stopped for the moment, Riku let go and Saya lowered her sword as well.

Diva appeared a touch annoyed again and sighed. "I've told you before Riku, what you want can't happen."

"Who says it can't?!" he yelled back with a fury that shocked both her and Saya. "This is all so stupid! You don't have to do this! You don't have to kill each other!"

Diva seemed bemused as she studied her reflection in her sword. "Saya doesn't seem to think so. According to her chiroptera don't have any right to exist in this world and so she wants us all dead. She despises chiropterans, even though she is one herself. Isn't that what's stupid?" She looked at Saya who was again glaring at her. "So sister, how will you kill Riku after you have killed me? Will you kill him and his brother together or separately?"

Riku could swear he heard Saya growl in response as her shoulders tensed and she strained to keep in her rage. "Diva… we are the reason they became what they are. They are not to blame, we are."

"So then it's just the queens you want to kill? How will you kill my babies then, my and_ Riku's _babies?" she asked, emphasizing his name. "Will you stab them through their cocoons or will you wait until they emerge?"

Riku looked at Saya imploringly, but her expression at Diva's words proved that at least most of what Diva had just said was true. Steeling his will he spoke again, "none of that matters now. If you both try then we can find a way to end this war between you two."

Saya couldn't contain her questions any longer. "Riku, why are you doing this?! Do you have any idea how many people she's killed, how many lives she's ruined? Have you forgotten she nearly killed you?!"

"I know, I know she's done terrible things!" Riku cried back, not moving from his place between her and Diva. "But there's more to it than that, more to her than that!! Have you ever thought about if it had been you locked up in that tower, if you could have turned out just like Diva?"

"More times than I can count, and yes, I could have. In fact, despite it all I once did become like that…" painful memories of Vietnam flashed through her mind. She sighed then continued in a resolute tone. "It's for that reason that I can't allow her to live. If I can struggle and fight those urges my whole life and still fall to them then there is no limit to what someone like Diva could do."

"I have the same urges Saya! We all do! But it doesn't mean we are monsters! It doesn't have to be this way! Both of you have been suffering for so long… I don't want to see that anymore!"

"Riku…" Saya seemed unsure of her words, frustration, sadness and confusion all mixing in her tone. "I don't know what exactly Diva has been doing to you all this time but I know enough to see that I can't trust your judgment on this. Now stand aside!"

"No! Not until you hear me out, not until you understand each other!" Riku pled with her.

"There is nothing to understand!" Saya shouted back. "It doesn't matter what she says or what I say, if I don't do this Diva will continue to be used to kill innocent people! I have to end the chiropterans, and that means destroying Diva! I've come too far to stop now, I owe it to everyone who's had to suffer through this, everyone who died trying to protect me or help me. I owe it to Dad, or has Diva made you forget what happened to him?!" She asked, pointing to a seemingly impassive Diva.

Now Saya was getting angry again, and Riku knew he stood no chance of holding both sister's back if they chose to renew their attacks on each other. Still he couldn't back down. "I could never forget that Saya! But did you forget Diva had nothing to do with it? It was Amshel who started up all those experiments, Diva wasn't even awake yet!"

"Don't you see?" he asked as he continued. "You two aren't the ones who caused all this. If anyone is to blame it's the original Joel and Amshel. You can decide for yourselves now what's most important to you. I know for a fact that what both of you care about most doesn't have anything to do with fighting each other!"

This statement seemed to catch both Saya and Diva's interests and Riku was quick to take advantage of it. Staring into his sister's eyes he continued to plead with her. "Saya if there was a way to stop the suffering the chiropterans were causing and let Diva live would you take it?"

"Do you really expect me to trust her Riku?!" Saya exclaimed.

"That's not what I'm asking!" Riku practically roared to silence her. "I'm asking if there were a way would you take it?"

Saya stared at him for several seconds before nodding her head slightly. "Of course, if it were possible…"

Riku whirled around to face Diva imploringly. "And Diva! You told me that a family was the thing you wanted most in the world, even more than you wanted to kill Saya. What if I could give that to you? Remember what I asked you back at the house? What if we found a place for ourselves, a place where we could be together and raise our babies in peace? If I promised to stay with you forever, would you leave Saya be and stop hurting people?"

Diva cocked her head as though confused by his question. "Why should I answer about something that will never happen? I hate and love Saya, but she only hates me."

"Don't you hear her Riku?" Saya asked in response. "Her mind is like a child's. She acts on her whims, and that includes killing people over the smallest things. Someone with that little self control will always be a danger to everyone around them."

"But she's getting better!" Riku said adamantly. "Amshel never let her grow up but with me she really is changing. Almost a year ago she even promised me that she wouldn't kill people for their blood. And she's kept that promise, because I can smell what blood is in her whenever she's around me."

Saya looked between him and Diva in disbelief over what she had heard. "Is that… is that really true?"

"Of course it is, why would I want to eat some icky human when Riku is so delicious?" Diva giggled a bit and hugged her arms to her body as she thought about it.

Riku felt encouraged now that he seemed to have gotten at least Saya to consider what he was saying and so he renewed his efforts with a fervor. "Think about it! This isn't how things were supposed to be for the two of you! Both of you came from the same mother, you should never have become enemies. I know horrible things happened between you and I don't expect you to forgive each other, but I'm begging you, both of you, let's end this without any more death!"

Saya stared back at him, looking even sadder than before. "Riku… even if she has changed… none of it matters… I have to do this… I promised… I promised…" her eyes were becoming moist. "So please, stop making this so much harder than it already was…"

"Is this about you wanting to kill yourself and end chiropterans completely?" Riku asked. "Saya… you're wrong. That's not how things have to be, not anymore."

"Babble, babble, babble," Diva mocked just as Saya was about to reply back. "I'm bored with all this talking Riku. Don't you see it's a waste of time? Saya talks a lot but she always says the same thing and nothing comes of it. However, all the arguing and fighting can stop when she dies. Saya just confuses you and keeps you from giving all your love to me. That's the reality. Just trust me Riku. I'll make everything better and you'll see it's true when I'm done changing the world."

"That's not the truth Diva. It's all a bunch of pretty lies Amshel has told you. If you keep following his words, if you keep trying to kill Saya, it will only make you suffer more in the end!" Riku cried out to her.

Diva wasn't even looking at Riku now as she eyed Saya, her eyes starting to glow yet again. "No Riku… I am quite certain. Doing this will make me happy in the end." Before Riku could react she had moved and flung him aside with a burst of strength. Now she faced a stunned-still Saya and raised her sword.

The next few moments passed for Diva as if in slow motion. She charged with all her strength and speed, her sword poised to stab through Saya's abdomen. But before she could bridge the distance another body somehow managed to get in front of her. In virtually the same moment she recognized who the body belonged to. Her eyes widened in shock but she could not stop and her sword plunged into him.

"RIKU!"

Saya cried out in horror and fell to her knees, while Diva withdrew her sword but then simply stared, unblinking, uncomprehending, and soon dropped her weapon with a clatter. She remembered the visit with Julia where she had learned about the changes in Riku's blood. His words echoed in her mind.

_'Dealing with your blood turns off my healing, so if I got hurt in some vital organ and had your blood put in me at the same time, I would probably die of the injury.'_

His heart. It was vital, and her sword, bathed in her blood, had plunged right through it. _Why?_ she thought to herself. _Why would you…_

She took his collapsing body in her arms, enraged at the sweet smile he gave her. "Why?!" she roared at him, her eyes tearing. "You were the one I wanted to live! Do you really love Saya so much more than me?!"

Saya raised her eyes in shock at his reply. "I do love Saya… I always will… but I did this for you…"

"'For me?'" she repeated. "What- what are you saying?"

"Because it was the only way to wake you up... Because I want you to live, live the life you should have had. I want you to see what I see in you… there's good in you… hope… I know you can love, because in spite of everything you've done… I…" his voice weakened to barely a whisper and he struggled to bring his lips to her ear, "I… love you Diva…" the shine in his eyes faded and he fell limp in her arms and slid to the floor, ending up face down.

Diva stepped back, her expression fearful and confused, like a child faced with something too big and terrible for her to understand.

"Riku. Riku? Riku?…"

It all seemed to hit her at once, her mind racing as she took it in.

_He said he loves me… he said it…He's loves me…_

_He's dead._

_Riku said he loves me…_

_Riku's dead._

_Riku's dead… he's dead… I killed him…_

"_I… I- killed him… I killed him!"_

_Riku'sdeadRiku'sdeadIkilledhimhe'sdeadhe'sdeadhe'sdeaddeaddeadeadDEADDEAD!!!_

Memories past before her. The nights they had shared, the way he had held her, the feelings he had awoken inside her, the comfort he had given her. Now it was gone. All gone.

It was strange. Nothing seemed to really matter now, or she just didn't care anymore. Killing Saya, making a new world, her feelings of hatred and self-pity… none of it seemed important now… there was just pain, so much cold and raw pain welling up inside her.

Diva's eyes were dilating, her body shaking, overwhelmed with fear and panic as she dropped to her knees and laid her hands on him, shaking his body desperately. "Riku! Riku! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Come back! Please come back, I'll be good I promise! I won't hurt anyone just come back! Please wake up! Wake up! PLEASE!"

"Pleaseplease…" her cries grew quieter, her sobs intensifying as she lowered her head and hugged her legs to her chest. "Please… it hurts so much… make it stop hurting! My babies… they aren't enough… not any more… how can we be a family without a daddy? It hurts… I don't want this… I don't want this!"

Saya continued to watch. Her sister queen was growing so hysterical that she apparently didn't notice that Riku was not crystallizing. Perhaps since his heart was the vulnerable point only it had crystallized? That may have been what Diva was thinking but Saya quickly dismissed the idea. If Riku were dead then the crystallization process should have continued as his body would now be unable to produce the substances that doctor Julia had earlier told her negated Diva's blood. Relief flooded her but she didn't speak, too transfixed by the sight of her sister's mourning. It was childish in manner, but she seemed so genuine…

Then Diva suddenly grew angry, "why didn't I kill you back at the start?!" she yelled at Riku's prone form. "If I had it wouldn't hurt like this! If this is what loving someone else feels like then I don't want it!" She held her head in pain. "I don't want it… Take it away… take it away, please make it go away! Make it stop… Why won't it go away… why won't it go away?! Riku!"

"I… these feelings… I- don't know how- to- I-I can't-" she sputtered and sobbed. She was lost, utterly overwhelmed by pain she had never felt before. Her body shook, her breath came in ragged gasps, until finally she unleashed a scream of rage and sorrow that defied true description. It was as though her song had been reduced to a single long note, its tone and pitch altered to that of a primal cry of pain.

--

Kai suddenly fell to his knees, a strangled and agonized cry escaping his lips as he held his head at the sensations filling him. He somehow knew Diva was the cause and that the link he was feeling was deeper than just what he could hear, he was somehow feeling her pain. What did this mean? Was Diva dying? No… it was not physical pain… if he could compare it to anything he would have compared it to how he had felt when his father George had died, or when he had thought Riku would die from the blood he lost to Diva. Yet this was more intense and confused, and utterly frightening.

After a time he became aware he had gone back to his human form and was being held in Irene's arms, being gently caressed and soothed as he unconsciously sobbed. Taking a few deep breaths he managed to get back to his feet, the pain in his mind from Diva's suffering manageable now that he could think clearly again.

Irene kept a hand on his shoulder as she observed him with worry. "Kai, that sound and you collapsing, just what-"

"We have to go, now," Kai interrupted, resolution set in his eyes.

--

Though it was far outside of their hearing range, Julia and Mao were finding that the artificial chiropterans and Corpse Corps were all being effected somehow by Diva's breakdown as well. Their ravenous hunger seemed to end and they simply stood there, still and quiet except on occasion when one would raise its head and let out a mournful cry.

--

Saya had stepped back in shock upon hearing Diva's cry. She brought a hand to her eyes, surprised to find that simply hearing Diva had been enough to stir tears in her, tears that now freely streamed down her cheeks.

"Make it go away… make these feelings go away…" Diva whimpered again and again.

"Do you really mean that?" Saya asked in a tone far softer than she had used with Diva for over a hundred and fifty years.

Diva looked up, her maddened, distraught face stained with tears. "Of course I do!"

"So you'd give it all up. Riku, your babies? What you're feeling might be worse than feeling nothing but emptiness, but what about the happiness you felt with them? Would you give that up?

The pain in her head ebbed as Diva listened, the fog in her twisted mind clearing ever so slightly, fragments of sanity taking root where they had long been gone. Riku and her babies had given her the greatest happiness she had ever known. To lose that… she would fight to the death to keep it from happening… yet she wanted to die now from this pain… it was so confusing!

"I don't understand! I don't know if this is love or if I even can love someone! But I need you with me Riku! I need you!" she broke down beside his body. Her sobs were now quiet, her mind flooded with the emotional revelations she had experienced in the last few minutes. "I… I don't want to go back to the way I was… I don't want to be empty anymore!"

It was then that she suddenly fell silent, her eyes widening as she held her breath and looked beside her to what she had just heard.

A heartbeat.

To what she had just felt.

The grasp of a hand upon her own.

Riku had his eyes open, looking up into her own fondly, his chest rising and falling as his body completed the repairs to his heart. His voice was still weak, but she and her sister's sharp ears picked it up with ease. "You're not empty… if you were… you couldn't cry."

"You're alive…" she breathed, her expression still in disbelief. Riku gave her the best smile he could manage and squeezed her hand. Her body shook, new tears streaming down her face as she finally collapsed over him in a frantic embrace, her sobbing now so much like that of a small child. Saya watched quietly and felt herself smile, for a moment so absorbed in the heartwarming scene that she forgot everything else.

"But how?" Diva managed to get out between her sobs. "I stabbed you in the heart. The doctor said-"

"Perhaps I can answer that."

Everyone looked aside to see Nathan coming up on the stage, Haji following close behind. Nathan knelt and placed Diva's cocoons on the stage floor before addressing them.

"You see Diva, due to your pregnancy your blood's poisonous nature was annulled to protect your developing babies, as one of your daughters's genes is close enough to Saya's for your blood to harm her. Since you just recently gave birth your blood hasn't yet returned to its former potency."

Diva's eyes widened in shock and disbelief at this revelation. "You knew this… all along?" she stated slowly, her tone turning angry, "and you never said anything?!" Had this been any other circumstance she probably would have attacked him at this point.

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened," Nathan explained enigmatically while ignoring Diva's anger. "I do adore you Diva, but you knew from the start I was with you for my own reasons. As I told you before, I am above all else an observer. I have waited a very long time to see if history would repeat itself and had promised myself to not interfere in your final battle."

He turned his attention to Riku. "At first I thought your role would be as no more than a catalyst to move the plot along, but instead you seem to have taken the reins of the story from my two lead actresses. With you in the equation the plots I had foreseen have flown out the window. I hesitate to even guess what may happen next. Quite impressive, little chevalier."

Riku stared back in confusion. "Nathan… just what are you?"

"The past, it would seem, just as you are the future," Nathan replied casually, then turned his attention to the red-eyed queen. "Perhaps you're wondering Saya, just why I went to serve Diva instead of you?" He grinned at her stunned expression and continued on. "The truth is by the time I located my deceased queen's daughters you had already grown up and gone your tragic separate ways. I may not hate humans Saya, but neither do I share your desire to protect them. Nor did I want in the slightest to live my life following you and Haji about in your little quest. So instead I located Diva, pledged my loyalty to her, and waited to see just what would come of it all."

It was then the various chiropterans became aware of a new presence in the theater and looked as one to see Kai standing breathless on the other end of the stage.

"Riku…" he breathed, afraid the image he saw before him would vanish if he blinked. "Riku!" Without another thought he dashed to his brother and enveloped him a tight hug, not caring about Riku's altered appearance.

Riku hugged back, transforming his claws back into normal hands so as not to cut him accidentally, but looked a bit uncomfortable all the same. "Kai, I missed you too but now isn't really the time."

Kai's eyes followed Riku's gaze to Diva, who had knelt on the floor to cradle her cocoons, her body still trembling from emotional exhaustion. As pathetic a sight as she made, Kai's gaze still hardened with hate. "You."

"Kai wait!" Riku cried and held his brother back. "I know you're angry and you have a right to be, but please listen to me! Diva, she-"

"I don't care! I'm going to rip her head off! It's because of her that neither of us will ever be able to live normal lives! It's because of her that you… she's the one who-" he didn't seem willing to finish his thought.

"I know…" Riku replied soothingly, "and if I were you I'd be just as angry. But if you had seen Diva's life through her eyes like I have, you might find it in yourself to try to forgive her."

"Forgive her?!" Kai scoffed but paused in confusion and shock when he realized how serious Riku was. He gritted his teeth and tried to calm down. "Riku, that's crazy. I'll admit she had a rough life, but that doesn't change the fact that she's a monster. She could never make up for the things she's done, and I could never trust her."

"Is that really true?"

A quiet voice interrupted the argument, bringing everyone to silence. Kai turned to her in confusion. "Irene?"

The blonde-locked schiff stepped up beside him and looked at Diva with sympathy. "Kai, you told me once, 'just about anyone can become our friend, if we try hard enough to understand each other.'"

Riku smiled, "that sounds like something Dad would say."

Kai scowled. "This is different. What is there to understand about Diva? She was locked up for all her childhood, went crazy and never learned right from wrong. Since then she's been used to cause more death and suffering than I can imagine. Do you really think we can just go on like none of this ever happened. She kidnapped you Riku, she… she raped you!" he finally said aloud.

"No… she didn't… at least not entirely," Riku replied, his head bowed meekly.

Now Kai seemed frightened. "What?"

"We all have monsters inside us, monsters that the queens control. Diva chose me and so when the time came, I truly wanted her. But now… now it's not because of blood. This is my mind, my will. I'm choosing this. I know it doesn't make sense to you, but I want to stay with Diva, to help her and love her the way she should have been."

Kai stepped back, not knowing what to think now. "Riku… how can you say that?"

"Enough!"

Everyone's attention turned back to Saya, who seemed to have reached her emotional breaking point. "Enough…" she wept. "I've spent most of my life for this moment Riku. I gave up on everything else in order to kill Diva, to put an end to the chiropteran race forever. Now you're asking me to give that up? It doesn't matter if Diva has changed. Full-blooded Chiropterans shouldn't exist in this world!"

"Does that include you Saya?!" Riku shouted back.

"Yes!"

All fell silent. While a number of them knew or suspected what Saya intended for herself, it was still a shock to hear her say it out loud like that. Haji hung his head slightly, wishing he could do something, but to speak against Saya's final wish for her own death… such a thing was not right of a servant such as himself was it? He was to serve Saya's wishes without exception and be bound by his promise to her forever. So why did the thought of it being carried out disgust him so much?

"… die…" Saya muttered mechanically. "We're… we're supposed to die… that was the promise I made!"

"That can't be true!" Kai said as he stared at his sister, dreading her answer. "Why would you think you deserve to die with Diva? There's no way its true!"

"But it is," Riku stated, giving Kai a look so serious it left him speechless. "Saya is not a hypocrite. She knows that she could have been just like Diva if the situation was reversed and she blames herself for the way things became. That's why she planned all this time to die with Diva. Isn't that right, Haji? You knew about it, didn't you?" he asked, the chevalier refusing to meet the boy's eyes.

"You hate being a chiropteran that much?" Diva asked, quite struck at the lengths Saya was willing to go. _So it's not just vengeance or punishment? She's pursued me all this time because she really thinks we shouldn't even exist? But what does that even mean? I thought it was just an excuse she used…_

Saya struggled to silent her sobs and not look Riku or Kai in the eye, her shoulders shaking in stress and sorrow. "I… a long time ago I… I made Haji promise me that after I killed Diva he would kill me himself. I knew that if Diva was used as a weapon then I could be too. I knew that if we continued to live then eventually someone would use one of us to hurt people again. Monsters like us… twin sisters who can only further their own existence by transforming people into chevaliers and impregnating themselves with their sister's chevalier… creatures that live off the blood of others… when it comes down to it we're nothing more than monsters and parasites. We have no right to live in this world and even if we did there is no place in it for us."

"Says who?!" Kai roared at her and earned a gasp from Saya. His concern over Riku and Diva seemed to have been put aside for the moment with what Saya had just revealed.

"Kai…"

"You heard me, Saya. Why would you have less right to live than the rest of us? It's not like chiropterans are the only monsters in the world. There have been a lot of people just as terrible, just as there have been a lot of chiropteran that weren't really bad at all! We can't live ordinary lives, but that doesn't mean there's no place for you. You've got Haji, you've got me and Riku, the Schiff, even David, Lewis and Dr. Julia! We're all on your side, we can be the place you belong!"

Saya laughed bitterly, "you think that solves things?"

Kai shook his head, "no, but we have to start somewhere don't we?"

A silence pervaded the room until Kai spoke again. "Are you saying you'll kill them too?" he asked, glancing at the cocoons Diva and Riku were staring at and fawning over, wide-eyed as their babies started emerging from them as if in response to the activity around them. "They're innocent in this."

"I… I have to!"

"But you don't!" Kai turned to Haji. "What about you Haji? Don't you have anything to say about this? I know your feelings for Saya, you can't possibly think its right for her to die because she's a chiropteran?"

Haji stared back silently, his expression betraying little emotion. It was unclear if he would answer Kai or not.

"Excuse me," a new voice interrupted, revealing Joel slowly approaching the stage with Okamura pushing his wheelchair. He had waited until he thought a good opportunity had come to speak, but couldn't wait anymore. He looked to the vampire queens, his eyes staying on Diva who gave him a curious look. "It is an honor to meet you like this Miss Diva."

"Who- who are you?" she asked him in confusion. Riku took this as an opportunity to take her hand, concerned that she might lash out at his answer.

"I am the descendant of the man who imprisoned you at the Zoo all those years ago. It is thus my ever-present burden to carry the name Joel Goldschmidt."

Diva's eyes flashed blue. "Joel." Her voice quivered, from long-suppressed fear or rage even she was not sure. What she did though was tighten her grip on Riku's hand and clenched her other hand in a fist until it bled.

Joel continued. "It has always been my fondest fantasy to find a way to end this war peacefully, but until now it did not seem possible. Believe it or not Diva, I bear no hatred toward you. Rather, I bear the guilt of my ancestor and the legacy he left behind. I have devoted my life to rectifying the shame of my family's past, as a Joel has done ever since that terrible day of the first Joel's demise. In that vein, it is my duty to ensure that both you and Saya are cared for, if you are willing."

"You're… you're joking," Diva replied as she knelt to hold one of her daughter's.

As for Okamura, he remained silent and hoped it wasn't too obvious just how uncomfortable he was with this whole situation.

"I can vouch for Diva that her true desires are only to have a family and happiness," Nathan remarked, raising his hand as he spoke. He looked at her fondly. "Beneath all her pain and rage, all the psychosis and manipulation, that has always remained the same."

His eyes hardened briefly as did his voice as he continued, "_That_ man, Amshel, never understood that. Because of this miss Diva never was truly allowed to escape her test tube. Without even realizing it she remained as much an experiment to Amshel as she were back in that tower." He now spoke to Diva directly. "You possessed more freedom, but were never given the knowledge or experience necessary to use it. Your mind was forever stunted, he maintained your life so as to keep you a petulant child, indulging your every spoiled whim while keeping the true qualities of life hidden from you."

He then turned his eyes to Riku. "You changed all that, Riku. With your influence Diva has matured more in the past year than she has in the past century. More than that, through you she has begun to understand what it means to be truly happy. If she will take it then she has a future now, more of one than she could ever have with me. I am too old… too set in my ways to be what Diva needs. More than that, I lack your soft nature. I won't deny that I wanted Diva for myself, but unlike Amshel I am willing to bow out when it becomes clear I've lost."

"Even so," he mused, "in the end it is the queens who must decide. So just what do you have to say now my dears?"

Diva closed her eyes as if in deep thought. "Riku?" she asked in a flat tone. "Will you stay with me forever? Will we be a family, our babies and us?"

Riku looked in her eyes, his thoughts and emotions conveying themselves directly to Diva's mind as he spoke from his heart. "Yes, and we'll be happy, you'll see."

Diva smiled at him warmly, but her expression became neutral as she turned to her sister. "I know, you don't believe me. You'd be stupid if you did so easily. But Saya… if this could happen, would you stop seeking my life?"

Saya stared at her long and hard, arguing the revelations of the last few minutes against the goal she had devoted her long life to. Yet there was no avoiding the truth. She was tired of fighting, of death. Even her hated sister's death would bring her no happiness, especially now. Still, her eyes steeled in resolve, "I would, but only if you swear to stop all of these experiments, stop causing all this suffering."

"That's easy," she replied, "I was never the one doing those experiments anyway and I never cared about them. For me, it was mostly about you. It is no lie Saya. I have always hated you. Because for as long as I can remember you have always had something I lacked. Even after I destroyed your home, Joel and all that you had known, even then I knew you still had it. The fact remained you were the only one of us who was truly loved. No matter what I did, no matter what I took or who I killed, I never got closer to having it."

Her gaze turned angry, "but why did you get it? That's what I wanted to know, until it turned out that there was no reason. Joel could have just as easily chosen me to raise as his daughter, while he locked you away in the dark with no name. So I decided that I would make whatever I was missing if I couldn't take it from you."

"I thought that, because a real family was the only thing unavailable to me, that it must have been the key to what was missing. It turns out that a family was only a piece of it. I could never take what you had, because it was something that could only be given," she looked fondly at Riku, who found himself feeling even younger than he was, as he blushed in return. "I just never understood it until now."

She gently placed the infants back on the floor. "But there was another reason I hated you. That was because no matter how much I tried, no matter how much I despised you… I was never able to hate you completely, and that made me _so _angry. All along… some part of me was desperate for my sister… some part of me… loved my sister."

Saya was shaking with repressed emotion as she accepted what she had known all along. "So did I… Diva… my sister. Until the end, I never let myself think about that. I needed my rage to do what I knew had to be done... but now," she broke into tears, "now I just want my sister! I just want to go home with you and live the way we were supposed to!"

Saya stumbled forward, unable to fully express the tumult within her, and grasped Diva in a desperate embrace. "I wanted to die with you… to end it all together… but now I want to live! With everyone! I want to truly live for the first time. I want to enjoy life, and I want you to know that joy too. Diva… my other self."

Diva looked utterly shocked at her sister's display, her body stiff at the contact. "Saya…" her expression did not change, but she felt new tears streaming down her face as her body trembled with unfamiliar emotions. "Sister…" she began to sob into Saya's shoulder just as Saya did to hers.

Suddenly Saya sprang back up, her expression utterly lost. "No…" she shook her head, "no… this can't happen… its not supposed to be this way… we can't be happy, if we try it will only make things worse! There isn't a future for us. I… can't live on like this. Why should I? How can I bear the guilt? I let Diva out, I'm the one most responsible… and I killed so many people in Vietnam… I even killed father! I can't live like this!"

"Saya?" Riku voiced in concern but it was as if she did not hear him.

The pain was too much for her to bear. It had all been so much easier when it was all about killing Diva and ending everything. Now everything had changed. Saya's resolve to atone for her sins with her own death had been one of the few things that had kept her sane and kept her living in all the years of desperation and loneliness she had experienced, all the years of bloodshed and pain. Now she realized she didn't want it any more, she wanted to live, and that realization made her feel lower than ever before. Would she not even keep this promise to herself, would see not at least be accountable for her own sins? Growing hysterical she held out her sword as though about to run it through her own skull, everyone watching in disbelief.

Nothing came of it though as Saya found herself embraced from behind, a gentle hand coaxing her to lower her sword. Haji turned her to him and held her head to his chest, shielding Saya from the world that had finally become too much for her as all pretense of strength and confidence fell away and she returned to the innocent girl who had been forever changed on Joel's birthday so long ago. Haji stroked her with amazing gentleness, trying to soothe her as she wept loudly and openly.

Kai sighed in relief, glad that Haji had finally acted on his feelings. Irene smiled at the sight and Joel and Okamura continued to look on spellbound at the broken Saya.

"Ha-ji," she whimpered between sobs, "I… I don't know what to do… I'm so confused… I don't know what to do anymore! I can't be happy… I don't deserve to be, so what am I supposed to do?!"

"Saya, it is not wrong to want these things" he assured her. "To live, to be happy, this is not a sin." He lifted her chin to meet his eyes and she stared back in confusion at his words, but listened intently all the same, tears still sliding down her face.

"I wanted to see you smile. Once more, like when we first met. Back then I was glad to serve you, even if I had to give everything up. When I first awakened as a chevalier, the first thing you showed me were your tears. And driven by rage, you chose to fight against Diva."

"However…" he now wiped gently at her tears with his fingers before continuing. "When I found you in Okinawa, you were wrapped in happiness. There was the smile that I could not give you in the life we had led, no matter what I did." He looked at Kai, "it was you and your family Kai, who gave her that smile, who gave her the desire to live."

His gaze now fell on Diva, who still felt vulnerable enough to shrink back from him. "You have caused Saya more pain than any other, for she has had to live with the guilt of your sins and her own mistakes burdened upon her for most of her life. Even so, I know that Saya never wanted to war with you, that in her heart of hearts she always wished you and she could have lived together in peace."

"It was a dream so guarded that she never once spoke of it, but I could see it. I could see it in her eyes whenever she thought back to her time with Joel, to that day she came to know you. I could see how she longed for another chance, how often she wondered about what might have happened if she had done something differently. She accepted the responsibility of bringing the threat you posed to an end, but it was a task that brought her no end in grief and not a bit of satisfaction."

"Then why?" Diva shot back, more confidant now. "Why did she chase me all over the world for so long if it wasn't for vengeance or satisfaction?!

"Because if she abandoned you to freely enact the whims of your madness upon the world she could never have lived with herself, either as a chiropteran or as your sister. Because of who and what she was, because of who and what you are, Saya took the responsibility of ending the struggle by ending your life and hers. For the sake of the world and your tortured soul she offered up her life and yours as penance for all of the mistakes that were made. And yet… I can no longer help her achieve that goal. I can no longer believe in it. Not when another way has revealed itself."

He turned back to Saya, her eyes trembling with emotion as they met his. "Saya, as your chevalier I have been living according to your wishes. But now I must go against your wishes, just this once. Live. Live on for tomorrow. You do not need to fight anymore."

"Haji… Haji I-" Saya sputtered, Haji soon speaking further.

"And if that is not enough, know that I will not allow you to leave this life alone. If you die, I will die as well. If you need reason to live, then please live for my sake and the sakes of the many others who care for you. You are my life Saya, and you are more than worthy of it. That is my choice, no matter how you punish yourself for the past I believe you deserve a future."

His next words floored his queen even further. "I love you, Saya. As your chevalier, and as a man. To see your smile and to have you know this are the only wishes I have for myself."

He then lowered his head, and with a gentle hand on her cheek guided her to his lips in a short but mind-spinning kiss.

Saya continued to tremble as she stared into his eyes, a slight blush reddening her face. "Haji… Haji!" she grasped him desperately close again.

"I love you!" she cried into his chest. "You've always been there, I've always dreamed of a world where we could be… but I never let myself believe it was possible… I want you to know how much I love you, I want the chance to show you, to tell you all the things I never let myself say before."

She stepped back, wiping her eyes a bit as her face brightened until it was beaming a smile not quite like any she had expressed before. "I'm sure now, for that alone and so much more, I want to live! I want to live for you, for the chance to make the lives we should have had, and for the sake of all those lives who were destroyed because my sister and I were born into this world. If I could do that… if I could find a way to honor them… I believe I could truly start to live."

He had finally given her the smile he had longed for, and what's more she was smiling for him. It was enough to almost bring tears to his eyes before he embraced her again. "Then we shall live, and search for the answers together. To be yours Saya is more than I could ever ask. Thank you."

--

His hands on Diva's shoulders as she continued to coo at their babies (she had quickly gotten bored listening to Saya and Haji's confession), Riku smiled at the heartwarming scene of his sister and Haji and looked to Kai, trying to discern just what he was feeling. The teen had a serious, contemplative face, and still looked a bit angry. "Kai-" he started only to be surprised as Kai interrupted him and looked Diva in the eye.

"It was you wasn't it? It was your pain I felt a little while ago. You must have thought Riku was dead." The blood-soaked hole in Riku's clothes right where his heart would be and the bloody, discarded sword near him had been enough for Kai to guess what had happened.

Diva nodded, the pain of the experience still fresh in her eyes. "Your blood harmonized with my pain, you are my chevalier after all, and I guess… I was wrong to say you didn't love Riku."

If Kai was touched by her admission he didn't show it. "I hate you… you're still responsible, that hasn't changed… but I hate what was done to make you this way even more. And after feeling that from you, and thinking about everything I just saw in the last few minutes, I know you'll never want to do anything to hurt Riku again. And maybe… maybe you might be able to help some of the people you've made suffer." He looked at Joel, "I guess I owe it to you and Red Shield to at least try to trust you guys on handling this."

Joel smiled, "thank you Kai. I know that this is all quite sudden and confusing, but there will be plenty of time to discuss everything later."

Okamura felt confident enough now to chime in himself, "yeah, later would probably be a good idea. I'm surprised this place isn't already swarming with cops, and I for one don't think there will be any good answers we can give to the questions they are going to ask."

"The artificial chiropterans made by the broadcast of Diva's song have likely kept the police busy, even if we did mitigate the damage by shutting down the satellite vans," Joel replied. "Still, I agree it would be wise if we left."

"We need to leave NOW!"

Everyone turned to the source of the new voice to see David running toward them in an obvious panic. Yet the sight of Diva amongst his friends and colleagues was still enough to give him pause. "What- what is this?!"

Joel gave an uncomfortable smile. He knew David would not warm up to his idea easily. And indeed, his quick summary of events had David livid. He raised his hands in a placating motion. "David please let's at least give this a chance. Diva could be of great help to us."

"Shut up!" David snapped, uncharacteristically losing conrol of his temper. "I can't begin to see how this is justified but we haven't the time to argue and no matter how much I disagree with it I certainly can't stop you. The point is the American military wishes to cover up the physical evidence of their involvement with the chiropterans. We only have a few minutes before this entire building is incinerated! The rest of the schiff and Lewis are already out."

"Then lets get going," Riku said. He looked to the woman that in spite of everything that had happened, he knew he now loved, and stretched out his hand. "Will you follow me Diva? For as long as it takes? It won't be easy, but will you try to begin again, for me?"

Diva stared back at him, her expression soft as she slowly reached up to take his offered hand. "For you… I will."

"THAT I cannot allow."

The deep voice seemed to come from everywhere as it echoed and everyone looked about in confusion before a large explosion rocked the room. However, this was not a bomb, for from the dust and debris emerged the hulking figure of Amshel. He seemed to be caught between transformations, retaining the size and other features of his chiropteran form yet also showing aspects of his human form such as his face. Strange glowing smoke seemed to waft from his mouth, the tell-tale sign that he could unleash another energy blast at any moment.

"Amshel," Nathan remarked dryly. "I must say… you've looked better. I guess you heard though, Diva's dumped us both for the kid and Saya. Oh, and the Americans you tricked are pretty sore about this whole fiasco."

Amshel ignored him as his eyes focused on the babies. "Diva, and the infants are coming with me. The knowledge they can give me will make this night's failure insignificant."

"Amshel, have you gone deaf?" Nathan exclaimed. "I just told you, it's over. Diva doesn't want this life any more, which means you can't keep her in it any more!"

Amshel spoke in a frenzied tone, his eyes twitching madly. "No… those are not Diva's words! Have you forgotten? I was here with Diva from the very beginning! I, more than even her know what is best for her! Not that it matters now. Even if I must end all your lives, as long as I possess her children my ambitions can still continue!" He glared at Riku. "And You! You will be the first to die. You are the one who poisoned Diva's mind against me!"

To everyone's shock Riku responded with a low growl as his body shook with anger. His hands transformed and his eyes flashed red, his voice filled with menace and his body shaking in rage. "I 'poisoned' her mind?" he repeated Amshel's accusation mockingly, his voice altering further as he spoke. "The only one here who poisoned her mind is YOU!!!"

In a flash he had crossed the distance between them and delivered a stabbing hit to Amshel's chest, the force of stunning him and sending him sliding back a good ten feet. Before he could recover Riku was upon him with a glancing upper cut and a barrage of slashes. Without pause in his attacks he ranted his rage.

"You could have helped her! You could have been there for her! You could have shown her there was more to life than what she learned in that cell!"

Amshel fell to one knee, bleeding profusely and unable to counter as Riku seemed to come from every side with lightning speed, striking him with a slash with each pass and keeping him off-guard.

"But no, you never even tried to show her an ordinary life! All you did was indulge her and cater to her every whim while you went and did as you pleased with your own crazy plan!"

Riku now stood before the fallen chevalier, heaving with fatigue, his eyes blazing. "Admit it Amshel! You don't care about Diva, you care about the chiropterans and seeing what they can become! In the end Diva is just as much an experiment to you as she was to the first Joel!"

"Diva is chiroptera! To fill the world with her kind is her highest destiny, not living some meaningless existence in something as insignificant as a human family!" Amshel bellowed back as he rose back to his feet, Riku dodging his strikes and energy blasts left and right.

Riku struck again, slashing him the face before spinning away, his wings now adding even more to his speed. "No, she's Diva! She's a person and she deserves to be treated like one, not doted on like some goddess and convinced that other people don't matter!"

He moved to strike him again but looked on in shock to find his arm caught by Amshel's in a sudden burst of speed of his own. "How dare you… you are nothing but a pleasure toy she spared on a whim!"

The eldest and most powerful of Diva's chevalier roared and struck Riku with enough force to hammer his body into the floor, forming a crater. Riku lay there dazed, many of his bones broken. He was unused to taking such heavy injuries and could not hope to get up in time to avoid another attack. Blood still pouring from the wounds Riku inflicted on him, Amshel raised his fist, wanting nothing more than to crush the boy into pieces. He then brought it down with explosive force, sending dust and debris everywhere.

"Riku!" both Diva and Saya cried out in unison.

However, as the dust from the impact of this smash cleared, it did not reveal a slain Riku. Instead, Kai was revealed between Amshel's fist and Riku, the young man kneeling over his younger brother, his armored wings held protectively over the two of them.

Amshell was speechless. _The design of that armor… it let him absorb the impact with hardly any damage?_

A snarl escaped the youth's lips. "Don't you dare lay another hand on my brother you ape-faced bastard!"Kai yelled, his eyes red and his voice monstrous.

He leaped forward, using his wings for additional thrust and striking Amshel square in the jaw with his armored fist with enough force to send the chevalier flying back a good thirty feet and crashing into the ground. Saya's jaw dropped, Nathan gave a few light claps of applause and Irene blushed in admiration.

Riku looked up in a daze to see Diva sitting beside him, fear on her face. "Oh Riku… are you okay?" He tried to nod but found it hard to move as she clung to him like a frightened child, still distraught from her earlier breakdown. With a flick of her hand she cut one of her wrists and held it to his mouth, pleading for him to drink and heal.

Meanwhile Amshel had stood back up, more enraged than ever as his injuries rapidly healed. "Diva! Listen to me! Come with me! You are meant for greater things than this, greater things than THEM!!!"

He paused as he noticed Diva at last looking up from where she was holding Riku. Silence pervaded the room as she slowly composed herself. Her face was again eerily blank, her eyes as cold as ever, her voice somewhat detached. "Oh, Amshel," she remarked as though she had just taken notice of him, "did you say something just now? I wasn't really listening."

Amshel gaped, for once struck speechless. Under Diva's tone was more than her usual apathy. There was a deep bitterness there, hiding beneath her coyness. "Diva…"

She again looked down at Riku and stroked his face, smiling warmly at him. "I was just thinking about how in all our time together you never once gave me a hug after one of my nightmares. You'd just throw a stuffed animal at me and move on. You never watched the stars with me, or showed me funny shapes in clouds. You never told me about your first day at school, about family vacations, or about friends and bonds that had nothing to do with blood. You gave me a place to live, you guided me, protected me and kept me fed… you're the reason I'm still alive. But you know what? You never gave me a reason to live, not one I wanted anyway…"

She closed her eyes and sighed, then helped Riku to his feet. "I'm tired… so tired of living for myself. I want to feel it more, I want to feel what Saya feels. I want to live for someone else, I want to live for my babies… for Riku… what you give me Amshel, it's just not enough, not if I have to give up Riku or make him sad. I can't be your little actor anymore, I think I finally understand love, and I can't go back to how I was before. And its all because of the love Riku showed me."

"You never gave me real love, the only Diva you loved was the one you tried to make me become, your precious 'queen of a superior race.' Riku is different… plus he's much more fun to be around than you ever were. I want to keep feeling more and more of these things, and to do that Riku needs to be happy, and to be happy he needs Saya and Kai around."

She looked toward her daughters before looking back at Amshel, a genuine smile on her face. "I have the family I always wanted now Amshel, and you clearly don't want to be a part of it."

"Just what are you saying?" Amshel bellowed.

"What I'm saying is I have no use for you anymore Amshel, just as you have no more use for me. So you can leave, or you can just die. I don't really care which. Either way, you'll never touch my babies. In short, I disown you as my chevalier Amshel, now and forever. Good bye." With that she turned away from him and led Riku over to her babies, behaving as if Amshel no longer existed.

For a time everyone was reduced to silence and gaping mouths at Diva's total rejection of Amshel, something the chevalier could no longer say was due to Diva not understanding what she was doing. At first his expression was lost, utterly lost, but it soon began to be replaced by one of pure rage. His whole body shook with anger and he gritted his teeth, energy seeming to crackle all around him.

"You… you ungrateful WHORE!!!"

Everyone scattered as Amshel launched an energy blast, the resulting debris making it hard for him to tell who had gone in which direction or where the babies were. What was apparent was that Saya and Haji now stood before him ready to attack.

Saya pushed back her fatigue, willing herself to get into a fighting stance again, only to find Haji looking at her strangely. He moved to grab her sword but Saya stepped in front of him. "Haji? What are you-"

"As I said before," he interrupted, "you do not need to fight anymore. I will shoulder this final burden for you."

Saya opened her mouth to object but was silenced as her chevalier pulled her forward with one hand and pressed his lips against hers for their first true kiss. Stunned and enchanted, her grip on her sword loosened and Haji nimbly slid it from her grasp.

He bent to her ear.

She heard his voice.

"Nankurunaisa."

And he was gone.

Whirling around she cried out to him as he raced across the room to meet Amshel head-on, dodging aside as yet another energy blast rocketed through the chamber. Yet as he neared him Amshel had nearly charged another blast. There was no time to dodge it.

Haji braced himself, intending to plow right through the blast and make his stab find its target, when suddenly, Amshel's blast was diverted aside as a large figure leaped between the two. The figure grabbed Amshel by the shoulders so forcefully he pushed him back, causing Amshel to briefly look up and thus throwing off his energy blast's trajectory enough to completely miss Haji and go through a hole that was earlier blasted in a wall. Haji stopped in his tracks, shocked at the new turn of events.

"Don't look so surprised," Nathan remarked casually, his elongated, transformed arms straining to hold Amshel in place. "Selfless acts are hardly my forte and this isn't one." He looked back at Diva. "Diva finally has realized her own wish and its neither what I or Amshel planned on. I thought we might travel the world together, just me and her. It is a pity, but unlike Amshel I know how to bow out gracefully. Now run us through Haji, and end this era so a new and better one may begin."

"Damn you Nathan!" Amshel raged, trying to break free. "You are condemning yourself to death as well!"

Nathan smirked at him in his usual coy yet sly manner. "Maybe so, but even chevalier have to die eventually. I'm choosing to close the curtain on this chapter in chiropteran history with my own hands." He looked back at Haji with a mocking grin. "Come now chevalier of Saya. I don't know how long I can hold him like this and if you take this grand ending away from me I just might kill you and Saya myself."

It didn't matter if the threat was genuine or not, it was enough to give Haji the resolve he needed to attack. He ran forward and plunged the sword through Nathan and into Amshel. After what he had heard earlier Haji was not that surprised to see that while Amshel's body began to crystallize Nathan's remained unchanged.

"Well done… Haji," Nathan groaned a bit and smirked at him. "Do me a favor and spare an eye for Diva's welfare now and again, you're the eldest chevalier now."

But suddenly Amshel's solidifying arms grasped Haji in an iron hold. Haji strained but couldn't break free and Nathan, pinned as he was to Amshel's body, was in no position to assist.

"I will take both of you accursed chevalier with me!" the dying Amshel swore.

"You're a sore loser Amshel," Nathan, now angry, remarked, his voice altering to a deep and fierce tone.

Haji glared in the eyes of his misshapen captor as the source of so much of Saya's sorrow at last solidified completely. Amshel was dead, but his body was cracking apart too slowly for Haji to free himself in time. Even now he could hear a large section of the ceiling above them, weakened by Amshel's attacks on the walls, collapsing, the mass of rubble falling toward them. It was hopeless, but at least he had protected Saya, he thought as his eyes trailed to hers across the room.

"Haji!" Saya screamed out, but found her legs failing her and her knees buckling, the fatigue of her approaching sleep raising its head after all the physical and emotional trauma she had experienced that night.

But still she watched, she watched as everything again seemed to slow down. David's urging for them to hurry as he led Joel and Okamura out, Kai grabbing her arm to pull her away, Irene and Riku taking one baby each into their arms.

She watched the rubble fall, inexorably, toward the man who had been with her from the beginning of this nightmare, the man who had stood by and supported her through it all, who had faithfully and repeatedly waited for her for decades on end just so he could go and risk his life for her yet again.

Was she to lose him now, now when they could finally have a real life together, when she could finally show how much she loved him for all he had done? Could the whims of fate really be that cruel?

This day at least fate had something else in mind, for with a blur of movement there was an immense rush of air and a sound of something between a crunching and a tearing accompanying the crashing noise of the ceiling. In that instant the falling debris seemed to part momentarily, exploding outward as a form tore out of the impact zone with inhuman speed and force.

Pieces of Amshel's torn stone arms flew in every direction and after stopping for a only a moment to catch her breath, the figure, Diva, appeared in front of Saya. Haji was unceremoniously slung over her shoulder and looked worse for wear after being ripped out of Amshel's death grip, but he was clearly alive.

"I know it won't make up for everything, but consider this an apology," Diva remarked, seemingly unfazed. The stunned Saya felt herself give her a brief nod before they all continued to flee for the exit.

**Notes: **

To help you visualize Kai's wings try imagining the wings Sasuke of the Naruto series has when in his second Cursed Seal form but with black plated armor over everything except the webbing between the wing fingers.

Sorry for the semi-cliffhanger ending. It's just that everything else is basically a final scene plus an epilogue which I'll be doing as the final chapter. Thanks a ton for all the reviews everyone and I can assure you I will have the final part out sooner than it took to release this monster of a chapter.


	8. Conclusion: Nankurunaisa

Sympathy for the Diva

Disclaimer: Don't own so don't sue

--

Conclusion: Nankurunaisa

--

Having escaped the blazing wreckage of the opera house, human and chiropteran alike converged to meet up at the apartment where Julia and Mao awaited them. This part had all been planned and expected. What was not was the sight of Diva stepping into the same apartment, her hand clasping Riku's and their arms cradling their daughters. Understandably it caused a stir among those who didn't know what had happened to bring this about.

Moses was glaring at her but made no hostile moves, Lulu looked unsure of what to make of her, and David made no effort to hide his skeptical glare. Mao was outright angry, though more for being out of the loop than anything else, and Julia was obviously studying the situation carefully before expressing an opinion.

Karman, however, was proving to be the most _expressive _critic of the current circumstances.

"Diva is our enemy!" The artificial chevalier shouted as he tried to lunge at the queen.

"So was Saya!" Irene cried back, she and Riku struggling to restrain him. For her part Diva sat on the ground letting her babies play with her fingers, appearing utterly unconcerned at the goings-on around her.

"That was different," Karman growled back, at last relaxing enough to be released. "Back then we knew no other way than to take what we wanted…" he glowered.

"I know that Karman," Irene said softly, "and I don't blame you for it. Yet the fact remains that before meeting Saya we ended the lives of a number of innocent people. I bear that responsibility and guilt as much as you do. I may not have been able to stomach killing them, but I still fed from the victims. When I think back to those days, to the things we did… we did them to survive, because we were alone in the world, afraid and in pain… and yet those people… they did not deserve to die like that… and now… now they can never be brought back…" her eyes began to tear and Kai hugged her from the back.

Karman's shoulders shook with repressed emotion, his head held low. "We knew no other way… how were we to know it was wrong?"

"I have no answer to that," Irene said softly, "but can't you consider it possible that Diva might have been the same? Maybe she also knew no other way to live?"

Riku noticed Diva had eyed Irene thoughtfully at this and could tell she was touched by her words, though she kept silent.

"She has a point Karman," Moses remarked to his friend gently. He then leveled his gaze at Diva. "Even so, how can we be sure she wants this second chance? She doesn't appear to be at all repentant."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Kai remarked grimly, still far from happy with the situation. "You guys must have felt something back at the opera house when Diva broke down over Riku. There's no way sadness like that could have been faked, it made me feel as awful as I've ever felt in my life."

The mention of the psychic effects of Diva's breakdown was enough to start Lulu crying quietly, and the haunted look in his eyes made it clear Karman had indeed felt what the others had felt. Still, he dismissed the notion. "So she mourned, what does that prove?" he demanded.

"That she's not a monster," Saya replied, speaking up for the first time since the argument started. She sat next to Haji, her tired body leaning against his as she drank some tea to calm her nerves. Riku continued to look about nervously as he knelt next to Diva and gave her hand a squeeze he hoped was reassuring. Though again, Diva seemed perhaps the calmest person in the room. Riku knew it was because of the new decisions she had made on how to live her life, but all the same Riku knew her passiveness in this would likely be seen as simply not caring.

David shook his head. "That's immaterial Saya," he replied before turning away from her. "Joel, I know you have always felt pity for Diva, but I am concerned that it is now effecting your judgement. I won't deny Diva seems to have changed from the dangerously unstable girl we encountered at The Zoo and back on our ship. However, do you really expect this change to last? Do you really intend to simply let Diva walk free?"

Joel shook his head. "Actually David, what I would like to propose would be more of a system of parole for Diva, for lack of a better term. The fact of the matter is that Saya and her family are the ones most capable of making sure Diva doesn't cause anyone further harm. Furthermore, with them she could continue to be rehabilitated. Of course, I would need and hope that you would agree with this miss Diva."

Diva looked up when he addressed her, revealing she had in fact been paying close attention. "I meant what I said earlier," Diva replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "I want to be with Riku as long as he'll let me, I want to learn more about what it is to feel the way he does. If I have to live with Saya and Kai to do that then I will."

"What?!" Kai exclaimed. "No way in hell!"

Riku turned to him, "but Kai, you said earlier…"

"I know that her feelings for you and the babies are real, and I can't say I hate her the same as I did before," Kai replied, clenching a fist. "But Riku… that doesn't mean I'd be able to live in the same house as her." Looking into Riku's moistening eyes he sighed in exasperation. "Damn it… this whole night has been a lot to take in… I… I just don't know…"

"I know…" Riku said quietly, "I know but still… there has to be a way to make this work."

Kai glanced at the teenage female who had been silent thus far. "What about you Mao? You and Okamura don't have anything to say about this?"

Mao sighed, no longer angry now that she knew what was going on. "Frankly, at this point I feel out of my depth. After all the awful things I've heard about Diva, seeing her in person like this with Riku so passionately defending her, it's hard to believe she's the same person. I don't know what's right to do here."

"Ditto," Okamura stated. "but after all that drama in the opera house it's hard not to feel sorry for her."

"We can't decide this based on feelings!" David yelled, slamming his hand on his chair and standing up. He now turned to address Joel. "Assuming this idea could even work are you actually telling me you think there is justice in it? Do you really believe she should not be punished for the crimes and suffering and death she has caused?"

Joel's expression turned more serious. "And I would ask you, David, can there really be justice in any of this? Can justice even apply in the same way? Diva is not like other humans, she is a special case. Furthermore, her mental and psychological problems can certainly be seen as mitigating factors."

Joel folded his hands thoughtfully. "Also, as I'm sure you know the vast majority of the crimes we sought to end were done by her chevalier or those they employed. As Riku told me when we met up on the way here, Diva had little knowledge of those things and even less to do with them. Amshel indeed was the driving force behind most of the atrocities."

David glowered. "It wasn't Amshel who slaughtered our agents a year ago, what of them?"

Joel's expression turned softer and sympathetic. "That is true… we lost many good man that night… but does killing Diva make their deaths have any meaning? What if by sparing Diva we were to be able to save lives? Wouldn't that be a better tribute to them?"

"Save lives?!" David questioned, incredulous, "just how long do you intend to make me listen to this nonsense Joel? How can you expect me to-"

"Please!" Riku interrupted him, grasping David's arm and then pleading with his head bowed respectfully. "Please just give us a chance! I know she's done horrible things, I know that she deserves to be punished! But I want to help her, I want to see her happy and I think now she finally can be! I swear, I'll make sure she doesn't hurt anyone. I'll stake my life on it!"

While David stared back in shock at Riku's outburst, Lewis looked unsure of himself but spoke anyway, "it isn't like we have any prisons capable of holding her unless she gets weak first. And if Saya is refusing to fight her and Riku is going to protect her, we can't do much about it by ourselves. I for one don't want another battle to start simply because we couldn't agree on what to do with Diva. There's been so much bloodshed tonight already…"

David sighed in frustration, no longer sure of just how he felt. "Riku… I can't help but wonder what your father would think of this."

"He took me in… a chiropteran who he knew I had killed so many innocent people…" Saya said quietly, her hand holding Haji's tightly, "and cared for me like I was his own flesh and blood. The circumstances may have been different… but I think he would want us to help Diva if it was possible. She did save Haji…"

Saya was not personally comfortable with the idea of living anywhere near Diva, let alone in the same house. Everything had changed so quickly and it still felt surreal. The night had begun with her resolute in killing Diva and herself and now, scant hours later, they both seemed to have a future. She had saved Haji, but even that didn't mean she could just act like the past never happened. Still… if it was for Riku… and after all she wouldn't need to live with Diva long before she'd get herself a thirty year vacation of sorts. Maybe by then she would be more accepting of the idea.

"But as I was saying," Joel began, getting everyone's attention back. "Diva could help us save lives. Isn't it possible Doctor Julia that her blood could be used to make treatments for the artificial chiropterans?"

"It is feasible…" Julia replied, hand to her chin in thought as she leaned forward, unintentionally showing a bit of her expansive cleavage and making Lulu (who stood nearby) gape and wonder just why her breasts were so tiny in comparison to the doctor's.

Oblivious to Lulu's inner musings, Julia continued, "I'm already having some success devising substitute blood for the Schiff to use while Saya is dormant, based on studying her blood, and I've also uncovered elements that relate to what causes the artificial chiropterans to form. It stands to reason that having the actual source blood to study would hasten my research."

"You'd help them, right Diva?" Riku asked, looking at her imploringly.

Diva shut her eyes in thought and nodded after a moment. "If that's what it takes. It sounds better than the tests that Amshel and the old man used to perform on me."

"I can assure you of that," Julia replied, feeling more and more open to working with Diva like this as she considered the potential benefits. "You will be treated as well as I can at all times, you have my word, and the both of you will be informed before any procedure is planned or attempted."

David groaned, frustrated but more accepting now. "If we do this, we need more than just Diva's word. She can't be given the option of simply running away if something goes wrong."

Joel nodded. "That is reasonable. Do you have a problem with that Diva? I can assure you that whatever we use it will only be with your and Riku's approval and non-lethal."

Diva glanced at him. "I'm getting tired of all this talk, so I'll just put it this way. I have nothing tying me to my old life anymore. Riku and my babies are my life now. If it means making them happy and keeping them safe, I'll be a good girl for you people."

The silence that followed indicated an agreement, even if many in the room were still not really happy or comfortable with it. It wasn't how they imagined this struggle begun so many years before to end but that didn't change the fact that it had seemed to finally end. And for that there was a sense of relief for all. David gave another heavy sigh, this time more from fatigue than frustration and Julia got up to place a comforting hand on his shoulder and lead him back to sit in a chair beside her.

It was now Saya had begun to pick up on the nearly invisible clues to Haji's emotional state. He seemed to be deep in thought but on another matter than Diva. She placed her hand on his. "What is it Haji?"

"That man…" he pondered, seemingly both to Saya and himself, "he did not have to die. I believe I could have stopped Amshel without him, so why would he sacrifice himself?" He looked at Diva, silently requesting her opinion.

"He didn't," Diva replied flatly. "If I know him at all, Nathan just wanted a flashy exit that would keep people from looking for him. Its clear he wants me to live my own dreams now so he stepped aside. Still, I wonder if I'll ever see him again, he always was fun to be around."

"But Saya's blood-" Kai began.

"Wouldn't work," Diva interrupted, glancing at Kai in a mocking way that was sure to anger the boy.

"Why?" Okamura inquired, eager enough for info to address the queen directly. After all he'd seen that night he'd lost all sense of fear by now.

Diva gave him a cursory glance and shrugged. "Because, he's not really my chevalier, he never was. I'm not sure whose he was or where he came from but he certainly never smelled at all like Saya."

David was stunned at this information, having not been present when Nathan explained himself. "A chevalier from _another _queen… but even if he was immune to Saya's blood, even chevalier couldn't survive an explosion like that."

"Maybe, but who says he was even in the explosion?" Diva asked with a bit of a sly smile. "He could have gotten out in time if he really tried. But I don't think you have to worry about Nathan causing any trouble. He was always pretty peaceful so long as you didn't make him mad."

Lewis yawned widely, "for now, I think it would be best for those of us who aren't chevalier to get some sleep. We've got a lot of chaos to deal with in the morning with all the chiropterans that have been confined around the world tonight."

Julia agreed, "at least they are relatively docile now, through some unexplained psychic link with Diva. On the news I saw officers leading them into cages with nothing but a few ropes. People will want to know about the possibility of a cure, so we should put out the information as soon we can. Through the proper channels of course, we'll need to keep Saya and Diva's existence secret."

Joel folded his arms and nodded, feeling rather fatigued himself. "For that reason it is fortunate you used an alternate form for your public appearances Diva. Because of that to the world the girl known as Diva will be said to have died tonight in the attack. We'll have to work on getting you a new identity though, but I think I can convince my allies in the government to assist, though I may have to cash in on the few favors they still owe me."

"I can keep my name though, right?" Diva asked, genuinely concerned. For all her hatred of Saya, Diva had always valued the name she had given her for the simple reason it was the first thing that she ever had of her own. "Saya kept her name."

"Yes, that should be doable," Joel agreed. "Though you will need more than just the name Diva. But that can all be worked out later. A great deal has happened and I think a little rest will help us process it."

"I am tired…" Diva stretched a bit a bit and grabbed Riku by the arm to pull him closer. "Okay, let's go to bed Riku, the babies can sleep beside us."

"Us?" Lulu asked. "But Riku doesn't sleep."

"Doesn't matter, he stays in bed with me. I sleep best that way."

Riku blushed, grinning nervously as the topic was steering in an uncomfortable direction. He could see Saya and Kai's expressions mixing concern and irritation. "Really, it's no big deal guys, I'm just comforting her," he meekly placated.

"Yeah," Diva agreed, keeping an arm around him. "It's not like I'm going to have sex with him with all of you people so close by. I'm too tired and Riku would be too nervous to do anything, _although _that part itself could be fun…" she said as if to herself and moved to nibble his ear.

Riku could only blush, smile and stammer at the shocked silence of the others at the sight of Diva nibbling and licking his ear so erotically. And if Saya and Kai's displeasure at the sight was anything to go by it seemed that the newly established peace between them and Diva was being put to the test already.

"Bold little vixen, isn't she," Okamura stated to no one in particular.

--

The time after that for a while seemed to rush past like a dream. Red Shield ended up implanting Diva with a small device inside her body that both allowed them to pinpoint her location anywhere on Earth and to incapacitate her if she ever became a danger to anyone. Using a code known only to Saya, her family, and the senior members of Red Shield, the device could be remotely activated to produce pulses of sound at a frequency that would rapidly knock the chiropteran queen unconscious. The device would also activate if she attempted to remove it from her body by force. So far at least they had not needed to use it, save for the initial test to make sure it would work correctly. Riku intended to keep things that way.

Riku had taken the trust Red Shield placed in him very seriously and never strayed far from Diva's side, which suited Diva just fine. It was a good thing too as he had learned to sense her moods well enough to anticipate when her emotions threatened to get out of control and threaten harm on someone. His presence and senses were equally helpful in her therapy sessions, though it took them a while to find a doctor who they could trust with the truth of who she was and who was brave enough to be near her when she got upset. Slowly but surely her psychological health continued to improve.

It was decided that for now the family could remain at their old home, suspicions about their not aging being kept from occurring as they learned to use their transformation abilities to fake an older appearance. This ability could only go so far though and they knew that eventually they would have to move away and establish new identities with the support of Red Shield. For now though, they wanted to enjoy their lives again as much as they could.

Saya stretched out a bit before cuddling deeper into Haji's arms in their bed. Things were so different now, but so much better. There was Haji himself for one. He had changed, or, rather he had gone back to who he really was. She didn't know for sure if it was the burden of their mission being lifted and their newly stable life or if it was due to the level of intimacy they had achieved so quickly, and repeatedly, or some combination.

Whatever it was, it was amazing how much and how quickly Haji had mellowed over the past few weeks. He was nearly as expressive as he had been before the incident in Vietnam. He was still not particularly social and tended to be quiet as was his nature, but he rarely spoke in quite the detached, emotionless tone he often had used before. His small smiles had also become more frequent. Love seemed to be spreading everywhere, with Mao and Okamura now travelling together again and David and Julia expecting a baby.

As for the other members of the Schiff, Lulu was planning to join up with Mao and Okamura soon, while Karman and Moses were assisting Red Shield in collecting and transporting the remaining chiropterans to holding centers. Hopefully a cure for these people would be found soon.

Saya herself had been eagerly exploring the possibilities her new relationship with Haji and blushed a bit as she thought about just how "excited" she had gotten with Haji during the night. Even with her sleep approaching it seemed her long-repressed chiropteran sexual desires could give her a… well… _frightening_… amount of energy. She needed to make sure to give Haji a bit of her blood before the two went out to start the day. Just to make sure he'd be okay, and also to reduce the chances of Diva noticing anything off about them and starting with her crude comments. It amazed Saya how quickly her thoughts in reaction to Diva's name had changed from "mortal enemy" to "shameless brat." The way she would hang all over Riku in non-private situations was positively infuriating. The girl had no sense of decency or tact. At least Kai and Irene tried to keep their private life out of dinner conversations, when Diva let them that as, as she often enjoyed teasing Kai about the various things her keen ears picked up on at night from their room.

Not that she didn't appreciate the strange relationship, although at the same time she avoided thinking too much about the disturbing connotations of her blood sister and adopted brother doing _those_ kinds of things.

She sighed contentedly and caressed his face. "Can we get up?"

"If that is what you wish."

"No… I mean, are you okay from last night?"

There was that smile again. "As I told you Saya, you don't have to worry about harming me. You would need to be trying to seriously hurt me in order to do any real damage."

"I see," Saya replied, looking down, her eyes subconsciously drifting to Haji's right hand. That was the hand that had been stuck in its transformed, monstrous state ever since that day in Vietnam when she had so terribly and repeatedly cut into it. She wondered if Julia's research might ever allow him to return it to normal again. After all, she had already developed a permanent cure for the Thorn by isolating certain elements in samples of Saya and Diva's blood.

However, there was sadness even in this new life. She tried to avoid thinking about how she would soon enter her dormant period, and how much she would miss in the ensuing thirty years. But there was nothing she could do other than prepare. In all her years she had never had to leave so much behind when becoming dormant. If there was one thing she still hated about being a chiropteran it was this mysterious need to sleep for so long.

Indeed, if she was interpreting her senses right, she might not last another day awake. Fueled by a renewed need for his touch, she kissed Haji's cheek and cuddled in his arms.

"Haji, I love you… so much…"

"And I you."

Nothing else needed to be said. They were practically clairvoyant when it came to each other these days and soon their bodies were moving rhythmically against each other, their hands tangled in their hair, pleasured murmurs escaping their lips.

They would remain in bed through the morning hours. Let Diva tease them, Saya decided. She wouldn't let that stop her from making the most of every waking moment she had left.

-- _Several months later_

For most it was another ordinary day. But for the two chiropterans sitting deep in the family tomb, it was a day that would mark a change in their lives that would last for years.

Diva had sensed it coming a couple hours ago and had said her goodbyes. She wanted only Riku with her when it happened, the tomb was no place for her babies. So now she sat here next to him, waiting for her dormant period to begin.

In a corner near them was Saya. She had been asleep for months already and her body was wholly concealed within the protective silk cocoon that always encased the queens shortly after they became dormant. Though Saya had a few years before woken over a year before Diva had, it would seem that the timing of the sleep was somewhat variable, and in addition the time of Saya's previous awakening may have been influenced by her forced awakening during in Vietnam.

Diva sighed as she eyed the cocoon. "Big sister Saya needs to always be first it seems like. First to get born, first to be loved, first to go to sleep and first to wake up."

Riku chuckled. "Maybe, but is being second really so bad?"

She held his hand and leaned into him with a smile. "I guess not…"

Diva briefly considered how she would like to make love with him one last time before sleeping, but she knew she didn't have enough energy left for it. Besides, they had already done it a ton of times the previous night. This left her with her idle thoughts, regrets and hopes running through her without distraction. There was so much she still wanted to tell Riku, so much she wanted to say, yet so little time to say it in. The words were just refusing to come to her and the more stressed she got the harder it became.

Now it was getting hard to keep her emotions from spilling out, but at least she was speaking her mind again. "You know, I want to promise I won't kill anymore… but I don't know if I can… if I'm ever without you, what happens if I lose my way?"

Riku thought for a moment about his answer, then smiled. "I don't think that'll happen, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure it doesn't. Still, if it does, my dad once told me that when you get lost one thing you can do is remember where you've been. Follow those memories and you'll find your way back."

Seeing Diva's uncertain expression at the analogy, Riku explained. "Just don't forget me, don't forget yourself and who you are now because of everything we've been through. Focus on those memories, even the ones that make you sad. If you do that then you'll be able to find yourself even when times are tough." He laughed a bit at his explanation. "Did any of that make sense to you?"

"I understood enough," Diva smiled, "and you're sweet. Another thing though…" her expression saddened again, "before I go to sleep, you should know that when I wake up… sometimes the nightmares and the stress cause me to go crazy for a while. I might attack anyone nearby who isn't a chevalier."

Riku nodded in understanding, putting his arms around her and laying on the floor with her. "You won't have to worry about that. I'll just make sure I'm the only one here when you wake up. Thanks to our link I'll sense when you're about to awaken, and once you calm down our daughters can see you and then we can start healing together again. The old Diva will be dead and you'll be able to be whoever you want to be. And just like it is with Haji with Saya, I'll always be by your side."

Diva sighed happily, only to tense up soon after. "It's not fair!" she suddenly snapped, twisting in his arms briefly, even her anger not enough to rouse her from her fatigue, "I finally have the family I wanted all this time! Why can't I watch them grow up?!" A few frustrated tears escaped her eyes as her voice became quiet. "Why do I have to sleep?"

"I don't know…" Riku replied in as comforting a tone as he could. "Maybe miss Julia will be able to find out while you're asleep. Maybe someday you won't need to do this. Until then just leave things to us chevalier."

"Yes but…" she hung her head. "They'll be grown by the time I see them again… will they even know me?"

He turned her face to look at him. "They will, I'll make sure of it. Me and Kai will tell them all about you and Saya when they're ready to hear it. We'll take trips here to see you while you sleep, and someday… we'll all be together again, whether its five years, ten years or even if we have to wait the full thirty."

For a while Diva stared at him in silence, then reached out to stroke his face, as if wanting to confirm he was really there and not some cruel hope her mind had dreamed up. Finally she spoke again. "Thank you… Riku… for saving me… for loving me…"

"Diva…"

"Things could have turned out so much worse so easily. If I had killed you on that ship…" her eyes were pained at the thought, "I'm sure I wouldn't be alive now."

"But you didn't-"

"But I could have!" she cried back, then whimpered, not meeting his eyes. "It was a whim… that was all it was at first… like Amshel said, I spared you on a whim… but then it became so much more… more than I ever imagined…"

"Same here," he replied softly, stroking her cheek. He smiled brightly, "I never could have imagined things turning out like this, but I'm glad they did."

"Riku…" she weakly tried to touch his cheek in return, but found she lacked the strength to raise her hand far enough. She grimaced in annoyance at her helplessness. "Riku, please…" she begged him in a small voice, "its almost time so please… tell me you love me again… kiss me… again and again until I fall asleep. I want my last thoughts awake to be good ones, so that maybe this time… maybe this time the nightmares won't come."

Riku nodded and bent down to her ear but kept her in his arms. He let his breathe tease her earlobe for a moment, making her quiver before he spoke with all the sincerity in his heart.

"I love you, Diva."

He cupped her face and moved his mouth toward hers.

"I really do love you…"

He kissed her, for once the one to lead the passion.

_I love you! I always will._

Into her mind, into the kiss, he poured out his feelings. Diva murmured softly in contentment as she returned his kiss with what little strength she had left.

_And not because of your blood, not because I am a chevalier, but because I choose to. Because everyone deserves a second chance at happiness, at being a good person and being loved… in your own way, you most of all. _

He felt the movements of her mouth slow, then at last stop. For a moment time seemed to stop as it hit him. It had happened. The thirty year sleep had overtaken her.

Wiping his eyes and sniffling, Riku soon couldn't hold back and grasped her in a strong hug. He held her like that for a while, all but silent as he cried out emotions he still did not fully understand. Eventually he laid her down, keeping his head against hers, he shut his eyes and whispered a farewell aloud and into her mind. "I know you can still hear me Diva. So I'll say it again. I love you. Not only that, but our daughters love you, and Saya loves you. And when you wake up you'll find more people who love you and who you can love back. You'll never be alone again. So remember that if the nightmares ever come."

"Rest well," he at last whispered and kissed her on the cheek. Raising himself up to look at her, his face brightened. Diva lay there silent and still, but a small smile had found its way to her lips.

Riku felt his heart warm at the sight. "Yes… when you wake up I'm going to show you how life is supposed to be. Until then, I'll live for the future, for the both of us."

--

**Notes:**

Well once again I took longer than expected, but the important thing is it is done. One hundred and sixty five pages worth of story, it's finally done! Don't know for sure what I'll write next or for what series but it will be a one shot or a two-part story for sure. Stories like this just take too long.

I hope you found I balanced closure with being open-ended. That's why I did not name Riku's kids (couldn't come up with good names for them anyway) and didn't say if it was for sure Saya and Diva would sleep for thirty years.

In addition, I've redone chapters one and two due to a few references to James under the name Jason, I get the two names confused so easily it seems. I've also redone chapter two of my DearS story to have Takeya ask about Io's theory on DearS all becoming reproductive rather than having her simply brush the issue aside.

Hope you enjoyed the story, the title, in case you wanted to know, refers to the Japanese saying from the series that means something like "it will be better in the morning."

On another note, let me advertise a manga series I've gotten into that I think would be great for anyone who liked my story. It's called Dance in the Vampire Bund, and features gorgeous, sexy art and a compelling storyline. At first you may think it is some kind of loli-fetish manga but it isn't really. The main vampire character does look like a little girl but there is more to this than meets the eye. The story has a lot of heart and the side characters and romances are great. For those who want the story spoiled further feel free to email me with what you want to know, but I'm only on volume 3 of the English version so don't expect Japanese version spoilers, its one of the few series I've abstained from looking at the Japanese version for.

And while this is the official ending, I did in fact write an additional scene to close the series off. I decided I didn't want it to be the ending because it stated that the sleep had lasted for thirty years and changing those parts would change the effect of the sentences. Still, you may find it worth reading so here it is:

**Alternate/Extra Ending:**

Contrary to expectations, Riku's appearance had in fact changed a bit over the past three decades. Though instead of actual physical aging this was more his mastering of his chiropteran body's shape-shifting abilities. He'd managed to rework his body enough that he could look slightly older and taller, latter mid teens or so, with no effort. He could only revert to his "true" appearance with effort. Regardless he looked about the same and he hoped that Diva wouldn't mind the slight change.

Saya had already awakened several months ago and thus Diva now had the shrine to herself. It seemed thirty years was more or less an approximate number, though Saya may have woken differently before due to her trauma in Vietnam and memory loss. Regardless, Riku could sense Diva would be waking soon and had been spending every minute in her tomb. He had asked his daughters to remain at home until after Diva had awakened and for the tomb to stay sealed. He wanted to take no chances with Diva lashing out during her awakening.

He now sensed her stirring within the cocoon and soon two pale hands had pushed their way through the silk and begun to pull it apart. Women Diva was revealed bare as the day she was born, the clothes she had worn having been eaten away to dust by the strange silk her body produced. As typical her hair had grown very long in the intervening years. Riku's breath caught in his throat and he felt his eyes moisten. She was so beautiful.

She stared at him with interest, her eyes glowing a constant blue due to her state of hunger. Riku knew from what Hagi had told him that when first awakening a queen was usually only semi-lucid and her actions would be largely instinctual, and though she may not (in Saya's case at least) attack whoever came upon her in that state, she would have an intense desire for blood that would need to be sated quickly. Even after that it could take a while for the queen to regain her full faculties.

He knelt in front of Diva, wanting to embrace her but afraid of startling her. "D-Diva…" he stuttered, overcome by emotion.

She cocked her head a bit, looking confused but at the same time seeming to recognize her name. Soon she had taken hold of his hand and began to examine it curiously. She sniffed it, then idly licked the skin of his palm before pulling Riku's whole body close. He soon felt the prick of her fangs on his neck, followed by the rush of pleasure that always accompanied it. He embraced her, moaning a bit as she suckled.

She lapped at his neck hungrily, struggling to hold onto him even as he tried to get a better grip on her body, the bluish glow in her eyes flickering with arousal. She gasped and sighed in pleasure, sometimes changing to a growl of frustration with her inability to suck on him as hard as she wanted to, her body stiff from not being used for so long. Finally she could feel her hunger being sated and relaxed in his arms, Riku lying back on the cold stone floor without complaint as she settled into a comfortable pace of feeding. He stroked her hair and back, reassuring her she could do this as long as she wanted. He had brought along a good supply of blood packets to rejuvenate himself if need be.

Riku had thought she might not be ready for it so soon but was proven wrong as she promptly began tearing his clothes off. She didn't speak, and her eyes had begun shining again as she gasped and purred and moaned, grinding against him. Diva had satisfied thirty years of hunger for blood, now she wanted to start satisfying thirty years without sex. Riku realized it could be a while yet before he would be able to leave here with her and reunite her with her family in any presentable fashion. Being the polite, patient guy he was, he wouldn't do anything to rush her. It helped matters that he had really missed this too. Plus not needing sleep or food meant he was prepared for what Diva was going to put him through. Namely expressing her thirty years of pent-up energy in the form of several days of nearly constant, fierce sex instead of a bloody slaughter. This was only interrupted by periods of rest where Diva would sleep and Riku would lay there recovering enough to respond when she inevitably woke up for more.

By then she had worked off the excess desire and regained her awareness. Donning the elegant gown Riku had recently placed within the tomb, she carried the very drained and weary but happy Riku out to greet the sunrise of what promised to be the start of a life happier than she had ever dreamed possible. All because of one choice she had made on a whim one night on a ship, and the consequences that had made that choice evolve into so much more.


End file.
